Valean Knights
by Drunk Scholar
Summary: AU: Humanity has been driven off the ground in their fight against the Grimm, forcing them into spires that stretch far into the sky with airships as their main mode of transportation and defense. When a routine escort mission leads to a fateful encounter and ends with a lead that may change Remnant forever, unlikely alliances will be formed in a fight to change tomorrow.
1. Chapter 01: The Goddess of Victory

**AN: Hello, some time no see, even though it exam's season up here in Canada, I couldn't really get this idea out of my head. I'm a huge steampunk and sci-fi fan, so I thought why not. Hope you enjoy the first chapter.** _(Warning: Pyrrha is slightly OOC for now, totally different history and background. She will come around later, just letting you know).  
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 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Prologue: The Red Hue of Waning Dusk**

* * *

" _Discover consists of seeing what everybody has seen, and thinking what nobody has thought"_

 _\- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi_

A young boy sat in his mother's lap, watching the red horizon with innocent glee. As the sun began to set and the colours of the sky began to wane, the pair could only sit in awed silence at sight of it, admiring the bright beauty of the setting sun as it gave way to the growing magnificence of nightfall. It was a sight that would forever instill a love of the sky within the boy. A love so strong and so pure that it blossomed, giving way to his desires, a yearning to reach, to fly, to explore, and to discover what none have ever laid eyes upon.

The mother told stories to the boy, tales of bravery, chivalry, and most of all adventure, all things that instilled a kind heart and an ambitious soul within the boy. This continued for years, night after night, the two would spend underneath the stars, sharpening their wits, one as a mentor and parent, while the other as student and son.

Across the horizon, there sat a girl watching in awe at the scene unfolding before her, a duel between men, swift, dangerous, but beautiful under the rising sun. The swift movements of her father in battle, the clashing of swords, shields, and fists enamoured her mind, but it was in victory when her heart truly soared. Each time her father emerged victorious, each moment a tally could be added to his long list of accomplishments, inspired the girl to emerge victorious herself, giving way to her desires to surpass, to conquer, and to soar, reaching unprecedented heights that few have ever dreamed of, let alone reached.

The father recounted history to the girl, times of hardship, trial, but most of all times of well-earned triumph, all things to instil a mind and heart that would strive for victory at all times within the girl. This continued for years, day after day, the two would spend underneath the sun, sharpening their blades and mind, one as a conqueror and parent, while the other as apprentice and daughter.

But as all things in life, nothing remains so clear or simple. Just as a chapter must finish before another can begin, all good things must come to pass. As the day gives way to the night, disappointment gives way to darkness, and darkness to corruption. Yet, the night must give way to the dawn, and so to must corruption yield to the possibility of redemption. After all, nothing remains untouched by the passing of time, neither the good nor the bad, neither the highs nor the lows; everything is under the command of time.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Goddess of Victory**

* * *

" _Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity"_

 _-Og Mandino_

' _It was a simple escort mission they said, nothing to worry about they said, a relatively simple task for a relatively new captain they said. Then how in bloody Oum's name do you explain these BLASTED NEVERMORES!'_ A certain blonde captain swore internally, as he stood on the deck of his ship dodging Nevermores by a hair's breadth, wondering just why he was possibly cursed with the worst luck in all of Remnant.

The deck of the ship was in utter chaos, sounds of gunfire and dust explosions reverberated throughout the air, as all crew, men and women, human and Faunus, fought for their lives against the aerial Grimm.

' _This was supposed to be an easy day. One more box on the checklist. Just escort some cargo to Vale they said, keep an eye on pirates they said, nobody mentioned that we were crossing paths with a mass Nevermore MIGRATION! I can see the news now, Captain Jaune Arc, age 28, was killed when an oversized, overcooked, chicken dinner refused to fulfil its destiny."_

"Captain," a voice resounded within the blonde's earpiece, "We're losing firepower. We've lost two deck guns, alongside two port side and four starboard side, sir!"

He paused his grumblings long enough to behead a Nevermore, before replying curtly, "DUST DAMNIT. Petty Officer, go find some engineers and get those guns back up and running!" The captain ducked underneath another set of talons, immediately taking a blind swing after recovering in retaliation.

As the battle raged on, the captain continued moving throughout the deck of his ship, striking at whatever foe got too close, while relaying orders to nearby men. "ENSIGN, GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR, YOUR PAYCHECK'S AT STAKE! MOVE SEAMAN, I REFUSE TO HAVE ANOTHER FUNERAL TODAY; LT. LIE, ON ME!"

"Yes sir." A magenta-eyed officer replied over the chaos, aligning swiftly with the blonde after dodging a Nevermore's assault with impressive dexterity. "What are your orders?"

"We Lieutenant, are going to roast some birds. Round up some men and some fire dust cylinders, we're firing the 'Edelweiss'." The lieutenant curtly nodded, running swiftly through the battlefield towards the one possibility that might save all their asses.

Another Nevermore dove beak-first for the blonde captain, viciously aiming to slay him in one fatal swoop. "Well then, you overcooked dinner. How'd you like this!?" He blocked the assault with a vigorous strike, slamming his kite shield into the Grimm's head, halting its motion for a single moment. Nonetheless, it was the only moment that the captain needed to lacerate its wings, and swiftly finishing it by puncturing its head with his blade.

Nevermore after Nevermore repeated the cycle, they would dive from the sky in an attempt to overcome the captain, but time and time again, he would block and strike, utilizing almost a decade of military training to slay the monsters that laid siege to his ship and consignment.

As the number of Grimm began to dwindle, they became incrementally more vicious, diving towards the weakened crew in more concentrated numbers with a rancorous desire to maim and to feast. But the crew remained steadfast, huddling together in defensive positions as Grimm swarmed the deck. Each dive by the Grimm was met with a valiant counter by the crewmen, strikes aimed to pierce their tough wings, shields raised to defend against their feathers, and shots fired to maim the creatures of darkness. It was no longer a simple bout to the death; it was battle of attrition between the Grimm's sheer numbers and the crew's ammunition supply.

The battle raged on throughout the deck, accented by the growing loss of life that accompanied the taste of battle. The blonde captain continued his battle against the nightmarish creatures, progressing through the deck of the ship from one side to the other, slaying Grimm as efficiently as the circumstances allowed.

He dodged yet another pair of claws, striking at its feet in hopes of crippling the blasted creature, only for his blade to be met by air, alongside the arrival of a much larger problem. Circling above the deck of the ship was an Ancient Nevermore, grown large and wise in its age, it was not an easy opponent to take down with a squadron, let alone a single crippled airship.

' _I swear to Oum I have to worst luck.'_ The captain cursed silently, observing the Grimm warily. It had a wingspan of approximately 10 meters, a width large enough to cover upper deck itself. Protective armour plates had grown over its head, leaving little to aim for, while its feathers were probably tougher than the steel plating that adorned the airship's hull.

"Captain, we're in position to fire." A voice resounded in the blonde's ear.

"Excellent, Lieutenant aim for the Ancient one, look for big, black, and needlessly ugly. Wait for my signal."

"Sir."

The captain twirled his sword once or twice, preparing for the engagement of a bloody lifetime. He dashed to meet the Nevermore in combat, battering his sword and shield together to garner its attention.

The Nevermore released a volley of its feathers, piercing the deck, but barely skimming him after a nimble roll. The captain continued on his way, lifting his shield to intercept any projectiles, while projecting his aura to increase his speed before jumping in the air to strike at the beast.

The strike went wide as the Grimm retreated into sky. A moment thereafter, it swiftly turned to dive headfirst at the now vulnerable midair target. However, the captain wasn't one to simply resign himself to fate; he was much too stubborn to go gently into the night. With a swift twist of his body, he dodged the Nevermore's strike, using the momentum to slam his shield into the side of its head, stunning the beast. Capitalizing on the opportunity, he plunged his blade deep into the Nevermore's skull, forcing it to retreat further into the sky, allowing the captain to land rather peacefully on the ship's deck.

With the Ancient Nevermore in retreat, many of the smaller Grimm followed suit, flying further into the horizon, but Grimm were not creatures deserving of mercy.

"Lieutenant Lie, if you would do the honours…" At his command, a discharge of solid light was fired into the distance, eradicating all trace of the large retreating nightmare, while scattering the smaller Nevermore in total disarray. Shortly thereafter, cheers resounded throughout the ship at their well-earned victory, as Jaune let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

"How goes the damage report Ren?" After the end of their skirmish, the captain had taken upon the task of surveying the ship personally, working together with the lieutenant to discover any complications that may be a risk in future encounters. Ren was dressed in standard Atlas military garb, white and pristine, highlighted with shades of gray, embodying the concept of professionalism.

"Lieutenant, sir…"

"Ren, we already talked about this. You're essentially family at this point, so drop the formalities outside of formal meetings and battle."

The magenta-eyed officer released a weary sigh at his captain and long-time friend, wondering just how the man was able to show such a dichotomy inside and outside of battle. "Cap- Jaune, the initial damage reports are in. Two anti-air dust deck armaments, two portside guns, and four starboard were damaged during the Nevermore encounter; although repairs are already under way, the two portside guns are a total loss and must be restored at the next military–grade shipyard. Parts of the hull have been breached at all sides; nonetheless, it's the bow that's taken the brunt of it. We've also lost a dust engine on the starboard quarter side, decreasing turning speed by an initial approximate of 10%, while the possibility of a complete restoration to maximum capacity is still in question. It was fortunate that it was a secondary engine rather than the primary."

"We definitely were…" The captain narrowed his eyes in thought. "How are our dust storages?"

"Bad. We've used quite a large percentile of our reserves, especially after we fired the 'Edelweiss'. I don't think we can afford to fire it again without putting the rest of our weapons in an inoperable state." Ren let out another weary sigh.

"Do we have any alternatives?"

"We could shut down a number of secondary engines, funnelling the dust into an emergency reserve for the 'Edelweiss', but our 'ETA' would probably double because of it."

Jaune cringed at the idea of doubling an already drawn out journey. Not only would it affect the morale of an already tired crew, but it would force their consignment, the cargo ship 'Gallia', to slow down to a snail's pace to remain under their protection. Additionally, it would also be rather detrimental to his health. It had taken years of the captain's life to get over his airsickness, as he climbed up the ranks to his somewhat ironic position of airship captain, but he still felt its effects creeping up on him every once in a while when he was utterly exhausted.

"How is our accompaniment the 'Gallia'?"

"We've gotten a short message from the crew, they sustained little to no damage during the encounter. They thanked us again for the escort."

The captain breathed out a sigh of relief, _'Well what'd you know? A silver lining.'_

"Ren, are we in the vicinity of any other vessels? Preferably Atlesean or Valean…"

"Captain Winchester's 'Crusade' is in the immediate vicinity according to our navigation systems."

"Dust dammit; the one captain in the entire fleet who hates my guts for no bloody reason is the only one in our immediate vicinity?" The officer merely nodded silently.

"See if you can hail him over the remote CCT onboard, keep my name out of it and maybe he'll act decently for once. I'll see myself to the engineering bay, lieutenant."

They separated at a crossroad within the ship, echoing two distinctive sets of receding footsteps, one in quiet determination, and the other in swift abandon. It didn't take long for the captain to arrive in the engineering bay. It was typically a quiet place, but the recent battle had goaded the engineers into overdrive. The captain was beholden to the sight of men and women rushing from one complicated piece of machinery to the other, as orders of one form or another loudly echoed throughout the room.

"HEYO Fearless Leader, what brings thee to the engineer bay?" A voice reverberated behind the captain, originating from a bubbly ginger in white overalls, covered in sooth and oil stains.

"Hey Nora, just checking that everything's running smoothly, and yes Nora, Ren did say 'Hi'; but what happened to you, you look terrible…"

"Psshh, this? I was just in the area when a secondary engine decided to go kapoot, but we got this Jaune-Jaune." If it was one thing Jaune appreciated about Nora, aside from her skills as an engineer, it was that she always treated him accordingly to their long history together. Ren, Nora, and him, had spent all of basic training together, alongside almost always being assigned under the same command banner. All of them had rarely served without the others.

"Besides, look at yourself, you're a total mess! All cut up and rugged, who're you trying to impress? Is it Ren?" The engineer began laughing at his oblivious expense.

"What…" It was at that moment that he decided to actually observe his current attire, and boy was it bad. The captain's uniform had been cut open in several places during the Nevermore encounter, and although his aura had taken care of his cuts and most of his bruises, splashes of dried blood remained adorned on these openings. The normally pristine white uniform with decorated ensigns was dyed in a myriad of colours and in complete tatters, giving him the look of wandering nomad rather than a proper Atlesean air captain.

"Mhmmm, sorry Jaune-Jaune, but the rugged look really doesn't suit you."

"Be quiet Nora." He sighed because frankly she was quite right; the remains of battle did no wonders for his complexion. "Never mind that for now, can you get that secondary engine running?"

The engineer was deep in thought, biting her bottom whilst touching her chin with her finger in an attempt to look intellectual. "Probably… But the 3-D printers are running at maximum capacity already, we're trying our best to repair the hull and the lateral guns, so I'm not sure how long it'll take."

"Can you show me the full the extent of the damages then?"

"Aye-aye captain, follow me." Nora mock saluted, albeit she really should've been quite serious considering the fact that he was indeed her commanding officer.

The two walked over the large holo-table in the center of the room, in which Nora inserted a few commands into and pulled up a 3-D display of the air ship. The 'Maid of Orleans' was a beautiful Alpha-class Battlecruiser, sporting a length of approximately 220 m and a width of 33 m. Although it was on the smaller end when compared to others of its class, it was well-equipped and heavily armed, truly a force to be reckoned with. The ship was faster and more manoeuvrable than the battleships of the Atlas fleet, equipped with four secondary dust engines and two primary ones powered by large and valuable dust crystals held in a complicated series of chassis in the heart of the ship. The two primary engines provided the vessel with the ability to swiftly ascend and descend, alongside their relatively fast movement, while the secondary engines provided precise lateral movement and swift turning speeds.

However, these specifications were before any of Nora's 'modifications'. Although the ship was at the moment quite frankly in ruins, in prime condition it outperformed any other ship in its own class by a marginal difference. The myriad of changes that the engineer had made to the ship had caused endless headaches for the blonde captain initially when he had to report it to command, but he was nonetheless thankful for the strength and ingenuity she brought aboard. In addition, a creative set of sails designed by the ginger engineer herself, allowed for a set of evasive manoeuvres in certain situations that no other crew in the fleet could pull without her modifications and instruction.

'The Maid', as the crew affectionately titled the ship, outclassed larger ships in terms of speed, while heavily outgunning smaller ones. It was armed with seven large dust armaments on deck, two facing forward, four facing lateral, and one facing the stern of the ship, while the 'Edelweiss', a heavily modified rail gun, sat comfortably on the upper deck. In addition, both starboard and port side were adorned with five smaller rapid-fire dust guns typically utilized to quickly take down aerial Grimm in a hit-and-run manner. Currently a number of the ship's armaments were coloured red, while two were completely black, signifying which parts deftly needed repairs and which required total overhauls.

"Can we strip any remaining parts from the lost guns to repair anything?"

"Maybe Captain, but that'll mean we're using material that may or may not already be strained and weakened from use. It'll be temporary and all, but it could be damaging to the other guns…" Nora always had an uncharacteristically serious face when discussing the ship.

"Well you're the chief here, you make the call."

Silence descended between the two as the engineer receded into her thoughts, weighing the pros and cons of salvaging already damaged material to repair another. During this brief moment of respite, Jaune returned his eyes to the display in front of him, a display of 'his' ship, under 'his' command, and he could scarcely believe it even after all this time. It's been almost a year since 'The Maid' had been his to command after his promotion to captain, and while most of their journeys had been exploratory missions, there had been no shortage of danger and close encounters. He couldn't help but admire the visual craftsmanship that went into his vessel, from the solid white armour plating that covered the ship, to the two yellow arcs that adorned its port side, serving as his personal insignia within the fleet. In the end, the ship had become his deadly, but nonetheless beautiful home, while its crew his new family, and he would be damned if he would ever lose it without a fight.

"Jau-" Nora's words were immediately interrupted by the sound of a resounding siren.

"Ren, what's going on?" Jaune spoke into his earpiece, praying to high heaven that it wasn't another Nevermore flock that they had to deal with.

"Captain… I recommend that you return to the bridge immediately, we've been hailed…" The lieutenant spoke solemnly, seemingly drained from whatever he was anticipating to encounter.

The blonde grumbled wearily, muttering something about bad luck and its effects on his well-being as he sombrely marched to the bridge. The bridge was a beautiful room in itself, well-designed and pristine, somewhat stuffy, but nonetheless presenting a clear sight of the horizon before them. Unfortunately, the sight that greeted him as he entered the door was far from pleasant.

In the center of the room an image was being projected in real time, and although the contents of the image were quite pleasant, as a gorgeous woman with flowing red hair and vivid green eyes stood at relative ease facing the crew on duty, the implications of this dispatch were not to be taken lightly lest they incur her scorn. Jaune Arc's luck had truly taken an indefinite leave of absence at this point.

"Hello Captain, I don't believe we've been introduced." The woman began politely, subtly hiding a look of interest behind her eyes.

"And I hoped we never would be…" Jaune grimaced, well aware of the woman's reputation, or what little was allowed to be told.

"Don't be like that Captain, I believe we can be very good acquaintances. Perhaps even rivals in battle?"

"Please, what good would it do to associate with a pirate?" The captain eyed the horizon warily, searching for a cloaked ship in the vicinity. _'She must be nearby or else the transmission would have never reached us. Dust Dammit, is she cloaked? No, she might be hiding between the clouds…'_

He gave a subtle gesture to his lieutenant, asking him to keep an eye out while relaying a message to the rest of the crew to prepare for another engagement. _'It had to be today of all days, Nevermores, pirates, what's next? Explosive kittens?'_

"Privateer is the word you're looking for Captain, and is this the proper way of entertaining a guest, let alone a lady? I was told that you were quite the gentleman, it seems that reality has a way of disappointing expectations."

' _You and me both sister, reality's been a bitch today.'_ Jaune inwardly swore at this turn of events, the ship was damaged, and for all intents and purposes, crippled. He had little to bargain with, and even less to bluff with. "I apologise then, it has been a rather long day. I am Cpt. Jaune Arc of the 65th Atlesean Air-Fleet, under the direct command of Admiral Winter Schnee, and in command of the Alpha-class Battlecrusier, 'The Maid of Orleans'. How may I be of assistance to an unparalleled beauty such as yourself?" He finished off with an exaggerated bow, attempting to hold conversation long enough for a plan to be formulated. In other words, he was desperate and stalling like their lives depended on it, for it probably did, to his dismay. _'After all, where was the fun in a boring and simple life?'_ He thought sardonically.

* * *

"My, my, what a turn of events? I'm almost tempted to invite you onboard for dinner." The lady chuckled in amusement at the captain's stalling tactic, wondering just how long he would be able to keep this charade up. If she hadn't known better, she would've found him to be quite charming. After all, tall, blonde, and relatively scraggly were her preferred characteristics.

"Perhaps, but I don't even know your name." He rolled his eyes at her. "Shouldn't the proper order of things be that you return my introductions first, and then ask me on a date?"

She chuckled at the sarcasm, since very few who knew of her reputation ever gave her the opportunity for banter, most would cower and plead. "I'm quite sure you know who I am captain."

"Humour me anyway. Besides, it's only proper for a 'lady' of your status." He sounded almost sardonic at this point, which brought no end of amusement to her.

"Captain Pyrrha Nikos, at your service, and I must say that it's been a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Jaune." She gave a mock curtsy at the screen, much to the blonde's bemusement.

"Wish I could say the same Ms. Nikos."

The lady continued to speak, exchanging casual banter, while keeping her opponents distracted as her ship circled into position. She signalled her lieutenants, inquiring them about their progress, to which they replied with small nods, signalling that they were just about to ready for the occasion.

' _This should be a challenge.'_ After all, taking cargo under the protection of a fully-armed vessel was no easy feat, especially from one that had garnered such a reputation in a single year, but she was always looking for a challenge.

"Captain, I'd like to make a proposition. You let me take…" She brought her finger to her bottom lip, humouring her crew with a false look of thoughtfulness. "…all of your cargo, and we'll be on our way as better friends?" She couldn't help but laugh inwardly with mirth, she was well aware of the captain's reputation, and she was well aware of how stubborn he could be, but it was nonetheless still entertaining to anticipate his reply.

"Buy me dinner, and then we'll talk." He ended the feed with a smile, one that she found herself returning after the fact. "Well, that was rather amusing." She walked to the center of the bridge to address her crew, brandishing a beautiful smile that left no man, or woman for that matter, uninterested.

"So ladies and gents', what are we doing today?"

"ACHIEVING VICTORY!" The crew was absolutely ecstatic over the prospect of battle, and so was she. At the end of the day, she wasn't looking for cheap glory or material wealth, merely challenges to overcome at her leisure.

"WHO SHALL LEAD YOU?"

"THE GODDESS OF VICTORY!" The name echoed wildly at the thought of impending battle.

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 **AN: So what'd you think? I love this setting personally and I hope I can do it well enough that all of you with come to love it too. I'll address a few concerns straight up before anyone else gets their butt overly clenched.**

 **1\. This is an AU, so personality traits of characters will exist in different forms and degrees. They are still the characters you love, but they will represent their traits differently in accordance to their different backgrounds. I will try my best to limit to OOC levels.**

 **2\. Is Pyrrha OOC? Yes for now, but she won't be later, it follows the concept of a butterfly effect concerning her background, please be patient and give it time. If you're wondering, I'm altering bits and pieces on how Pyrrha responded to various events in her life (shown soon) that have caused some personality shifts. For example, Pyrrha despised her fame in canon because people put her on a pedestal and she felt alone, but without this circumstance her views of her status may be entirely different. I'm merely taking advantage of this possibility, and will be trying my best to justify her actions and circumstances quite quickly.  
**

 **3\. 'Give them a Show' new chapter? Working on it, no worries for the few of you that love that fic as much as I do.**

 **Well as usual, follow, fav, or leave a review if you have anything to say, and I will happily do my best to improve upon it. Good day ladies and gents.**


	2. Chapter 02: Our Ever-changing Wings

**AN: Hello, this is the 2nd chapter of this little story of mine, we get a little more of action and some interaction, but after this there is going to be quite a bit of exposition. Before we begin, I want to say something. After someone brought unto my attention (named 'nate'), and some careful consideration alongside research, the 'Maid' has been reclassed as a Alpha-class Battlecruiser rather than a battleship.** _(Warning: Pyrrha is still OOC, we've barely gotten any exposition yet, so please remain patient and I plan to get most of it done in the next chapter or two)._

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of Rooster Teeth**

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 **Chapter 2: Our Ever-changing, Fleeting Wings**

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" _No man steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."_

– _Heraclitus._

The bridge of 'The Maid' was dead silent. A wave of anxiety had begun spreading throughout the crew present, as quiet murmurings and silent prayers resounded throughout the room.

' _Dammit all, this day's been one gong-show after another…'_ Jaune clenched his feet in utter frustration, the day had been going on far too long, and it appeared that it was far from improving any time soon.

"Lieutenant, how many of our men are still ready for combat? And how many have we lost?" He asked wearily, massaging his temples at the thought of another encounter so soon.

"Out of the original crew of 1,300 that came aboard today, only 100 of which are hunter-class combatants, alongside an additional 200 with experience from a preliminary combat school, while the rest consist of engineers and crewmen with basic naval training, but little to no combat experience. We've lost 10 hunters and 40 additional combatants during our prior engagement, while 20 hunters and 40 combatants are currently unavailable for active combat due to injuries. We're down to 70 hunters and 120 combatants, some of the crew could arm themselves with rifles for fire support, but CQC is out of the question for most of them."

Jaune displayed a grimace. Things were not looking good for them in any sense of the word. They were far from prepared for repeated engagements in combat. Not only were they crippled from the Grimm attack earlier today, but the onboard crew was little more than half of the ship's maximum capacity. This mission was supposed to be quite simple, a straightforward escort mission on a well-known trade route to Vale. Their presence as added security should've merely been a friendly political gesture towards their neighbouring kingdom, not an actual necessity.

This left them with two choices, either they ran for it or they stalled for reinforcements. Neither of which were good alternatives when dealing with pirates, buccaneers, or others of the same plundering cloth.

"How was the call to Captain Winchester?" He cringed at the thought of having to ask for help from someone such as Winchester. The man may have been a good fighter and leader, but his attitude towards most things in life left much to be desired.

"They've received our request, albeit it will take some time before they reach our line of sight, approximately 30 minutes to be precise…"

 _'Dust dammit. I really should've taken that leave of absence I was offered…'_

"Lieutenant, alert the 'Gallia' that we may be under the threat of another engagement. Order them to keep an eye out and to keep their shields up, we'll provide an opportunity for them to escape if need be." He sighed out the last order, hoping that they could somehow avoid the worst possible outcome.

"Sir," the magenta-eyed officer went about to complete his orders, restlessness exuding from his every motion. In turn, this made Jaune sick to his core. After all, although he held the lives of his entire crew in his hands during every mission, rarely had they ever hung so close to the balance.

"The rest of you, alert the crew of a possible engagement and get everyone into position." He took a moment to open a communications channel to the engineering bay, "Nora!"

"Aye, Fearless Leader?" She echoed back to the bridge.

"What's the status of our repairs?"

"We're almost done down here boss, we've got our guns back up and running, with the exception of two port side. We also got the damaged secondary engine restored, although the ship's far from functioning at a 100%. I give it an 8 on the _pancake scale_."

The rest of the crew turned to their captain for an explanation, while Jaune merely turned to Ren for one. The magenta-eyed officer simply shook his head, encouraging the rest of the crew to leave it for another day.

"Uhhh right… Nora, get everyone in engineering prepared and on high alert, try to conserve as much dust as possible when doing anything, aim for efficiency. We've got a pirate problem to solve."

"Pirates?' She spoke incredulously.

"Pirates." He replied curtly.

"Hmmmm, should I bring out my fly swatter?" Nora deadpanned.

"Fly…swatter?"

"Yeah Captain, I'm talking about Magnhild, duh."

The entire bridge shared a laugh at their chief engineer's antics. Even in the darkest of nights, the Valkyrie and her hammer somehow brought light and joy into their lives.

"You bring whatever you wish Nora." Jaune felt the echoes of a smile remain on his face, forever appreciative of the engineer's bubbly effect on morale, as giddy laughter could be heard resounding over the intercom as the channel was closed. He opened a ship-wide channel and with courage, he addressed his crew, "ALL HANDS, GET INTO BATTLE POSITIONS! WE GOT SOME PIRATE ASS THAT NEEDS KICKING!"

At his command, the ship burst into life, men and women throughout the entire ship, from the deck to its heart, ran to and fro, readying weapon systems, arming themselves, and generally preparing to fight for the chance to see another day. ' _After all, no better motivator than certain doom,'_ he thought sardonically, before shrugging his musings off with a fearless smile.

* * *

It took merely a few minutes to get everyone in position, a testament to the quality of training that the captain inflicted upon his crew on an almost daily basis. The drills that caused no end of groaning from most of the younger crew members had saved lives in Jaune's personal experience, and any action that could minimize casualties was a necessity in his book.

A tense atmosphere had returned to the bridge, as everyone stood at ready for their unseen enemy, and it was far from comfortable. A deadly detriment in any engagement was low morale; humanity was a race that thrived on hope and ambition, and without it, they were actually quite pitiful. Fear and hopelessness was a plague that risked infecting any crew, and it was the deadliest of ailments. Jaune had seen crewmen crumble underneath pressure, damning not only themselves, but also the others that depended on them. Hence, he reopened his ship-wide channel and spoke.

"Ladies and gentleman of the 'Maid', this is your captain speaking. We will be having the misfortune of entering a rough metaphorical storm in a few moments," this earned a few chuckles on the bridge, "but have no fear, for we are far from helpless.

We are warriors, protectors, heralds of a righteous cause, not only in the name of our kingdom, but also on behalf of our families and loved ones. It has been an honour to serve and protect with each and every one of you. I commend all of you for your bravery and strength, your kindness and wisdom, your willingness to put others before yourself. It has been merely a year, but I consider all of you close family worth protecting, and trustworthy allies to fight beside. So I ask you to come with me on what possibly may be our last mission in this life, to go forth with no fear, to fight against injustice and the dangers that threaten our kingdom, to make your marks in history. What we are facing is no ordinary pirate; we are facing the great Pyrrha Nikos and her crew of the damned, the 'Goddess of Victory', the 'Renegade of Mistral', the 'The Fallen Maiden', captain of the infamous 'Achilles', with an overwhelming bounty of 65,000,000 lien commissioned by Fleet Admiral Ironwood himself. We are at a disadvantage, we are outgunned and probably outmanned, our ship is damaged and weakened, and we are facing an experienced profiteer of war and chaos, but I will nonetheless make you one promise. I _promise_ that we shall meet her challenge head on, if we are to fall, then she and her crew will be with us till the end. I cannot promise you overwhelming victory or survival, but I can promise you that your names will receive the highest of honours, that all of us shall be remembered in history as the most courageous of protectors, a band of men and women, human and Faunus, who stood strong to the very end. Underdogs we may be, but I implore you to fight till the end, exemplifying the courage and honour I know each one of you holds within yourselves, and so I ask you again, will you stand with me and make history? Who is willing to go forth with me, with no fear and an indomitable spirit until the very end?"

The ship was silent for a moment, as Jaune stood on the bridge anxiously, fearing that he may have overdone his call to arms. But his worries were unfounded when his crew returned his call in spades, as cheer thundered from all corners and shook the ship. The shouts were chaotic, a mix of hopefulness and passion, fiery and powerful, before being shortly refined into a single line of determination, as a single phrase began rising above the rest, coming together to form a single chant.

"Ad usque fidelis. Ad usque fidelis. Ad usque fidelis… " The simple phrase was echoed throughout the entire ship, as crew member after member joined in, adding to it their own unique brand of determination and will to see this fight till the very end.

The phrase was one that all members of Atlas' fleet learned during their training. It simply meant 'Unto Fidelity', being true to the end, in a long-dead language, but the emotion and strength that it could muster out of people was more than enough reason to employ it. _'True to the end indeed'_ Jaune thought proudly, as each member of his crew armed themselves with newfound courage in preparation for their encounter.

"Captain, 2 o'clock, we've begun to make contact." A navigator called out from the bridge.

' _Not a moment too soon it seems.'_ Jaune steeled himself, waiting patiently for a clear sight of their opponent. Out of the clouds, burst out a ship with its broadside already trained onto them and firing a number of its guns in unison.

"SHIT! EVASIVE MANEUVERS NOW!" He ordered, recognizing the already charged dust cannons of their opponent. The 'Maid' lurched downwards, barely evading a volley of dust rounds above them, before swiftly pushing forward to get into range.

After avoiding the first volley, Jaune took the time to observe their opponent. The enemy utilized a large ship that was 290 m long and approximately 40 m wide, possibly a titan-class battleship. It flaunted a dark red colour throughout its hull, alongside the occasional embossments in gold for good measure, a true testament of its captain's colour scheme. It had 6 long range dust cannons on each lateral side, while on closer inspection its side was also littered with 'Dust-gattlers', short-range rapid-fire guns that were devastating during close range encounters, and a definite sign of a ship well-equipped for boarding engagements. Its forward guns were not any friendlier, as 3-triple barrelled heavy dust-artillery armaments generously decorated its deck, a deadly display of force. They were definitely outgunned, but not outpaced. Although their enemy also sported two primary dust engines, Jaune could tell that they were older models and far from efficient in comparison to Nora's. They had a chance, and it was all he needed to know to formulate a plan.

"Helmsmen, we outpace them by a marginal difference, continue moving forward towards the enemy. Minimize their area of attack by only keeping our bow towards them. Engineering, concentrate shields on the bow. Men, fire all forward guns towards their secondary dust engines, cripple their turning speed!" The crew worked quickly, shifting the ship to comply with his orders as the lurched even faster towards their enemy.

The 'Maid' fired its forward guns, releasing a volley of heavy-calibre dust artillery. The shells flew quickly over the sky, hammering into their opponent's broadside, releasing a number of large explosions that dyed the horizon in red hue. The crew cheered at the prospect of crippling their opponent, but their shields held strong and the 'Achilles' came out almost unscathed.

The 'Achilles' returned fire, firing its broadside dust canons in alternating succession, providing an unrelenting assault of dust shells. Nevertheless, the 'Maid' held strong, lurching upwards and downwards slightly to avoid most rounds, while others were held back by their shields. It helped immensely that they didn't leave much to be targeted; 33 metres seemed like a large target in theory, but in actual combat and at the speeds that the 'Maid' could achieve, it was not an easy target to hit, let alone take advantage of.

They continued to move forward, moving swiftly towards the enemy's stern to take advantage of its slower turning speed, utilizing hit and run tactics in an attempt to cripple the titan. But the 'Achilles' had a crew that was far from inexperienced, realising that their initial tactic was being used against them, they rotated to protect their stern while continuing to fire upon the 'Maid'.

Dust shell after dust shell rocked the bridge of the Atlesean Battlecruiser, as they continued to press forward towards the enemy. Jaune swore underneath his breath, they were holding out but not by much. Each shell that had to diverted by their shields took an enormous amount of wind and lightning dust, utilizing a concept of redirecting kinetic energy that was far above his ability to understand, but its implications were clear enough for him, they wouldn't last in a battle of attrition. He had to come up with something fast, they couldn't get too close and risk the chance of a boarding engagement, they were heavily outmanned and the 'Dust-gattlers' would tear them to shreds, and neither could they stay at maximum range without placing the 'Gallia' at risk. Nevertheless, an idea came forth from the blonde's mind.

"Lieutenant, reach the 'Gallia' and give them the coordinates to rendezvous with the 'Crusade', we will provide them an opportunity to escape. The rest of you, we need to get above that ship!"

"YES SIR!" The bridge called back heartily.

The 'Maid' pitched upwards, utilizing the maximum capacity of its engines to gain altitude. Their underbelly was temporarily exposed to the enemy, an opportunity that was not missed by their foe. The 'Achilles' fired rapidly at the ship's underbelly, rocking it as it climbed upwards, tearing at its sides and breaching parts of its hull, minimized by the ship's speed rather than its shielding capabilities.

They gained a short respite from the battle, as both ships lost sight of the other in a sea of overhead clouds. Nonetheless, the battle raged on, as dust shells were fired blindly from the clouds underneath the 'Maid', not only proving a hindrance to the ship's movements, but also providing brief moments of sight to the enemy. But sight was a two-way street, what the enemy could see of them, they could see of the enemy, and soon they would be right above them. Jaune smiled fearlessly, preparing himself for what may be the most dangerous maneuver they will ever perform.

"On my count, I want you to dive helmsmen!" The order was met with stares of shock, but the crew knew better than to distrust their blonde captain and his smile. He had come a long way from the man they've met a year ago, but one thing that remained untouched was his courage, and so they returned his smile with one of their own, matching his ferocity at every level.

"DIVE!" Jaune shouted over the sounds of gunfire and explosions. The 'Maid' dived forward dangerously, breaching the cloud barrier in an almost vertical fashion, right above their opponents. The blonde captain had calculated their trajectory, praying to Oum above that his calculations were close enough to position themselves above a secondary dust engine, and his faithful prayers were answered.

The bow of their ship, enforced by concentrated shielding on behalf of engineering, made impact with a secondary dust engine of the 'Achilles'. Although the initial impact was held back by the latter's shields, the force was much too large to be held back. The 'Maid' viciously rammed through one of the enemy's secondary dust engines, destroying it thoroughly in the process with most of the damage shielded away from the perpetrator. All in all, they succeeded in crippling their opponent and Jaune's crew let out a genuine cheer at their first hopeful sign of victory. However, they were far from done.

After the 'Maid's' nosedive, sails began unfurling throughout the deck of the ship, rapidly slowing down their descent and leveling them out horizontally. One of Nora's many modifications to the ship was a set of sails that allowed them rapid transitions in vertical directions and speed whenever they were deployed. It was not the first time that one of her innovations have swung the tides of battle in their favour. They found themselves directly underneath the belly of the larger battleship, allowing them the opportunity to hammer its underbelly. Dust shells were fired rapidly towards the 'Achilles', a generous gift from its crew, as shell after shell exploded above them in a beautiful mural of sight and sound. Large parts of the ship's hull were breached, each emitting a groan akin to an injured titan. Victory seemed within their grasp to Jaune, as long as they continued to keep speed with their foe and remained underneath them, there was little the battleship could do but surrender. Nonetheless, their opponent had other ideas.

The 'Achilles' began titling towards its side. Initially, he hoped that the titan was succumbing to its injuries, but his hopes were short-lived. It completed a complete 180 degree flip, exposing its deck to the 'Maid' and began returning fire.

The ship was rocked to its core, as shell after shell pierced its deck, wreaking havoc to its inner workings and armaments. But what came next was far more unpleasant, as hooked lines were then attached to their deck, dropping men and women combatants in practiced unison. Jaune's worst fears had been realized, they'd been boarded.

"Lieutenant, what of the Gallia?" Jaune swiftly turned to his officer.

"They've gotten away."

"Good. ALL HANDS ON DECK! WE CANNOT LET THEM INSIDE THE SHIP!" Jaune opened up a channel to engineering, "Nora, protect the engineering bay and the engines at all cost, we cannot let them take the ship!"

"Aye-aye Cap'!" She replied, surprisingly giddy.

"The rest of you, on me!" At his command, the entire bridge moved out, strapping weapons of all kinds to deal with their visitors. They all rushed outside towards the deck, and the sight that greeted them was chaos incarnate.

Fights were danced around breaches on the deck, as blades were clashed and gunfire resounded continuously. Aura flashed desperately around every combatant, fighting vigorously to protect its owners from any and all harm. But in the eye of the storm, was a whirlwind of red and gold, a fighter like none other that anything Jaune had ever seen before. She was fast, she was strong, and she was beautiful, almost as much as she was deadly. Her opponents were littered nearby, all crumpled to the floor in a heap, as she dispatched opponent after opponent single-handedly in lethal displays of skill.

"Lieutenant, I leave you in charge of our defenses, protect the ship and leave their captain to me." Ren nodded at his captain's orders, dashing forward into the fray of battle with a squad of combatants to rally a defense on the deck, while Jaune walked towards his own battle. After all, he had a promise to fulfill, if he was taking a trip to the afterlife, then who could possibly be a better traveling partner than the infamous Pyrrha Nikos.

* * *

As Pyrrha knocked down the last of her opponents, she began to notice a blonde mane in the corner of her eye. Turning to face her new challenger, who was dressed in a standard Atlesean officer's uniform, white with shades of grey and a simple motif of embodying stoic professionalism, she found herself face to face with none other than the captain of the 'Maid', one Jaune Arc.

Captain Jaune Arc was famous in a number of circles, aptly titled the 'Guardian Knight' due to his indomitable presence with the sword and shield. He was the young captain of the 'Maid', who was rumoured to have been merciless in his pursuit of justice and order, while others argued that he was a kind and generous man to whomever he dealt with. Everyone in her field of business was wary of the blonde, whispering stories about how he was able to hunt down entire fleets with a single ship. However, at this moment Pyrrha saw none of that. All she saw was a worthy opponent, and so she strutted towards him with weapons at ready.

"What? No banter Ms. Nikos?" He quipped sarcastically as he pulled out his blade, while his eyes carefully scanned the fallen bodies around her.

"I speak better with my blade captain. Although, you shouldn't worry too much about your men, I tend to avoid casualties myself, so shall we have a clean match?" She replied humorously, while observing her opponent's weapons. It was a medium length blade, clear and polished as the day, while the kite shield he carried on his opposite arm solidified his image as a knight. He swung it with practiced ease and bent his knees, keeping his center of gravity low and poised for movement. She could tell he was experienced, but only a bout could tell who held more skill.

Pyrrha rushed forward towards her opponent, aiming an upward strike with Miló towards his chin. He deftly blocked with his shield, skilfully parrying her Xiphos in an attempt to unbalance her. But with a simple twist of her heel, Pyrrha spun in a tight circle, using the gained momentum to deliver a swift kick to his gut with her heel.

The kick struck close to home as the blonde let out a grunt of pain. However, the victory was short-lived for the redheaded captain, as he countered with a shield bash to her face. There was no time to duck in their short exchange, so she allowed her aura to take the full brunt of it, pushing her back a few good metres. A short respite was gained from their initial exchange, but neither of them were willing to stop for long.

The two captains circled each other for a moment, examining the other for some opening that they could capitalize on, and yet when none was found, they both rushed to meet the other in battle. Jaune struck first, thrusting his sword forward with shield upheld. She noticed the lunge and met it with her own shield, Akoúo, deflecting it with a strong swing of her arms, followed by a nimble twist to get behind him. The blonde noticed his blunder immediately, dropping down on one knee to roll to one side over his shoulder, swinging his blade mid-roll at an attempt to disarm her. She was forced to sidestep the swing, allowing the opportunity for Jaune to return to his feet.

They returned to circling each other once again, wary of the other's experience and skills. _'He's a lot nimbler that I thought…'_ Pyrrha continued to assess her opponent, searching for some hint of weakness. Once again, they rushed at each other, only to meet in the middle in a flurried exchange of blade and shield. She swung and he blocked, only for his counter to parried by her shield, and the cycle repeated itself for a good while. They continued their blade dance across the deck, circling breaches and fallen combatants, exchanging glancing blows with the other, resulting in a myriad of small wounds in every place imaginable that left no lasting impression on either of them.

She was growing tired of their exchanges, as the effects of her aura being constantly drained were beginning to take a toll on her, while her opponent only seemed to be slightly winded after their long bout of combat. _'His Aura reserves must be massive, if he's still standing strong after everything…'_ In any other situation, she would've been ecstatic to find such an equal in combat, but the battle was far from a simple spar, it was one that required her to emerge victorious. Subsequently, she shifted Miló into Javelin form, eliciting a small look of surprise from her opponent (much to her private delight), and threw it at him.

He calmly sidestepped its trajectory, before catching the javelin in midair with inhuman reflexes and rerouted its trajectory away from her with a strong throw. Jaune dashed swiftly at her, utilizing the apparent opportunity to close the gap and strike. He cut through her aura and pressed his blade to her neck.

"Yield," he said placidly. Unbeknownst to the captain, the javelin had rerouted itself once again, returning towards in him while a black glow enclosed its entirety. It stopped right before his temple, softly pushing into his skin and drawing a trickle of blood.

"It seems that we have reached an impasse captain," she smiled fearlessly at him, watching for any movement in his blue eyes.

"Indeed we have…" He spoke, returning her smile in every shade of its glory. Silence befell the two once again, weapons pressed against the other's neck, while the sounds of the battle around them served as their only measure of time. It was almost serene, contradictory as it may have been. The duo would have continued to stare at each other if not for an interruption that silenced everything around them, as over the horizon, a rancorous roar could be heard.

* * *

 **AN: HALLELUJAH MY UNIVERSITY EXAMS ARE DONE! Good day again ladies and gents, hope you enjoyed the second chapter of my story, and are still willing to stick around for more. I'd just like to address some things while you're around as usual:  
**

 **1\. We learned something about Pyrrha today. I'm not sure if you could tell, but when Pyrrha said that she tended to avoid casualties, she was telling the truth. This is actually quite an important factor of her character, that gets explored next chapter.**

 **2\. How are the fight scenes so far? I like some parts of it, and I don't like others. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, do not hesitate to leave a review or PM me. I'm also willing to talk about characterizations that may need improving, and I've already looked into making Pyrrha as not OOC as soon as possible (next chapter).**

 **3\. The rest of the cast will show up soon, no worries.**

 **Well that seems to be about it, like usual, I hope you enjoyed another chapter of this world and are willing to stick around to explore it with me. If you liked it, give it a follow or favorite, and if you have something to say go ahead and leave a review or PM me. I appreciate everything you guys said about my last chapter, and am working to continuously improve the quality of writing I am able to create. Thanks again everyone, and once again, good day ladies and gents'.**


	3. Chapter 03: Bedtime Stories

**AN: Hello once again, sorry about this but I got a few questions that I need answering for the direction of this story. They'll be written in the AN at the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoy this one, its less battle-focused and more exposition-focused.  
**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

Edit 1 (Nov.14/ 2016): Got rid of that slaver joke. It was taken seriously multiple times, and in hindsight, a terrible decision on my end considering other events in that will occur in the future.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Bedtime Stories**

* * *

" _Many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares, were there a danger of their coming true!"_

 _\- Logan Pearsall Smith_

Ren hastened off into battle, brandishing his reliable pair of SMGs out of their combat holsters to rally a defense with the remaining crew on deck. He was followed by a small squad of officers, each of them armed with their respective hunter-class weapons, and each of them prepared for a desperate battle till the bitter end. Predictably, it didn't take long for them to engage the enemy.

The small squad of officers cut through the grunts with ease, experience and skill fueling their outbreak of battlefield dominance against the enemy. Utilizing a collection of rush tactics, they blitzed through enemy lines, granting much needed reprieve for the on-deck defenders. Invaders brandishing their red and gold colours were neutralized quickly, as blades and bullets were unleashed freely upon the deck of the ship, while the sounds of battle reverberated clearly in Ren's ears. For a moment, they were turning the tides of battle, their individual battle capabilities easily matching the worth of a hundred grunts. Unfortunately, their stroke of good luck came to an abrupt end when the squad was met with another of similar size, and more dangerously, skill.

Their assault was abruptly halted by a collection of invading officers, led by a male whose outfit was most definitely the stereotypical standard for all pirate attire. He was dressed in a white undershirt and combat cargos, accented by the grey bandanna on his neck and those wrapped around his right arm, alongside his wrist. What was more eye-catching though was the red and gold naval jacket draped around his left shoulder, harmonized by the fiery scarlet hair that flowed and covered his right eye.

The battle quickly descended into a vicious stalemate at their appearance, as battle formations were disrupted in favour of one-on-one duels throughout the deck. Ren, who must've drawn the proverbial 'short-stick' of the lot, was locked in a death match with the opposition's scarlet leading officer.

Extending the sickle blades of Storm-Flower, Ren engaged the enemy fastidiously, unleashing a flurry of calculated strikes and shots on the man. The male responded in kind with shots from his pistol, designed reminiscently of a historical flintlock, while using his cutlass to expertly block Ren's strikes. Both officers found themselves merely inches from each other, dodging and weaving underneath shots and strikes when possible, while allowing their aura to take the brunt of those they could not avoid. The flashes of aura and weaponry could be seen all over the deck, as the two continued their dance of speed and dexterity, rather than brute strength.

It was the scarlet officer that broke their routine first, tossing his naval jacket in the midst of their exchange, breaking line of sight for a brief moment. Ren swiftly backpedalled, predicting that a swift thrust would be following the tossed jacket, and so he unloaded a full magazine from Storm Flower. Bullets ripped through the fabric, resulting in a necessity to reload and the remnants of an article of cloth whose previous occupation was a jacket. Contrary to his expectations though, the scarlet officer was standing quite a distance away from him, mouth upturned in a smirk.

"You're so going to regret that, that was my favourite jacket…"

"Uhh…sorry?" Ren stood still, befuddled by the man's words.

In the blink of an eye, the scarlet officer shifted his pistol grip and swiped horizontally. Momentary shock digressed quickly into recognition for Ren, as a projectile wrapped hurriedly around his left wrist. The grappling hook was pulled further to the left, twisting his weapon away while pulling him to the floor. Ren hit the ground headfirst, his consciousness momentarily fleeting, before a second hit impacted his exposed gut.

Ren rolled further down the deck, coughing continuously in an attempt to subdue the pain and regain air in his lungs. He could see that his opponent had no intentions of slowing down, as a streak of red hastened towards him with another kick already in motion. In a speed that rivalled sound itself, Ren pulled a miraculous reversal on his opponent. By a simple twist of his body, he barely evaded the scarlet officer's boot, temporarily unbalancing the pirate, and gifting Ren the opportunity to deliver a precise leg sweep to the back of the male's knees. The man immediately lost his footing, resulting in his awkward suspension in midair.

However, the Atlesean lieutenant was far from done, with another burst of seemingly impossible speed he righted himself into a martial arts stance and lifted his right foot upwards. He concentrated his Aura into the heel of his uplifted leg and allowed gravity to finish the job, resulting in a brutal axe kick to the pirate's gut. The metal deck dented underneath the weight of impact, accented by his sharp grunt of pain. With victory in sight, Ren primed another hit to finish the fight, but the rancorous roar over the horizon advised him otherwise.

* * *

"What was that?" Jaune asked warily, turning to question his opponent while keeping an eye over the horizon for the source of the beastly roar.

"Your guess is as good as mine Jaune…" She replied curtly, reciprocating his worry by sheathing her weapons.

' _Oh c'mon, this can't be good…'_ Jaune thought wearily, feeling his wrinkles deepen in tandem with his stress.

It did not take long for their questions to receive their answers, albeit they soon regretted even being present to receive them. Out of the clouds peaked a large white fin, decorated by a myriad of scars and markings that further accentuated its dominating presence; what followed was far less pleasant. A mass of sheer black began rising fully out of the horizon, a body that seemed to physically embody the absence of light, only contrasted by the sheer number of armoured plates that protected its joints and decorated the ridges of its backbone.

Its body was long and serpent-like, easily doubling the size of even the largest battleships, while the rippling of destructive musculature could be seen with its every move. The beast sported no obvious limbs, alongside no obvious method of propelling its flight. The only exceptions were the innumerable fin-like structures that adorned its sides, each of them moving upwards and downwards in tandem with the others, possibly propelling its lateral movements. All creatures of Grimm blatantly exuded intimidation and danger in some form or another, yet most remained reminiscent of more conventional creatures of nature, birds and animals of some sort. However, the sheer bizarreness of the creature, which seemed to resemble no living creature known to date, only multiplied its intimidating and alien nature by an ungodly amount.

Nevertheless, it was the beast's head that drew the most attention. Fins protruded from its head in an eerily even-spaced manner, each of which sporting their own set of scars and indentations, a testament to its long life of violence. The head itself was entirely covered in armour, exposing little to the forces of the outside world; all the while each plate was ornamented by Grimm markings, eerie red and white markings of all manners that further enforced its intimidating image. In the end, its eyes were the feature that drove true fear into any man's heart, dark red that rivalled even Pyrrha's fiery mane. They seemed to bore down into the very depths of one's soul, incredibly ironic considering the Grimm's soulless nature, judging and destroying all forms of hope, if one wished to be melodramatic.

A mouth that sported row upon row of teeth roared at them again, further emphasizing the sheer power behind the beast, and yet that was far from the worst the two captains bore witness to. After all, it had begun moving towards them.

The two captains then shared an acknowledging look with the other, wariness and opposition melting away in favour for a larger desire to survive another day. Jaune was the first to speak, "Truce?"

"Truce," she replied curtly with a wary smile, "so what should we do partner?"

"Partner? Never mind, that can be discussed over a good bottle of wine if we ever survive this, but I digress. We need to bring our ships into a two-fold battle formation. The Grimm can only target one of us at a time, allowing the other to fire directly from the opposite side. From there, we aim to cripple it long enough for an opportunity to escape, most obvious targets seems to be its fins and possibly its eyes." He answered commandingly, shedding away all semblance of hostility for the redhead and her crew, and its place a form of camaraderie.

Before Pyrrha could voice a thought, let alone an actual response, the two captains were interrupted by a shout behind them. "CAPTAIN!" The shout reverberated behind them, powered by two different voices in unison, as two gentlemen came running up to them.

The two looked battered and bruised, albeit one looked far worse for wear than the other. Clothing was ripped irreparably and splotches of dried blood stained what remained, but it seemed that neither of two were just ready to back down from a fight.

"Lieutenant Lie Ren." Jaune spoke softly, concerned over the condition his close friend, but nonetheless shared a professional salute with the man.

"First mate Scarlet David…" From beside him, he could hear Pyrrha voice a similar concern over her primary officer, "What happened to you?"

The scarlet officer merely pointed to the Atlesean lieutenant beside him, in which Ren reciprocated by folding his arms and displaying a smirk over his apparent victory.

Jaune smiled at the display, reflecting Ren's smile towards Pyrrha, pointedly relaying the message: _'My officer is better than yours'_. She merely rolled her eyes in reply, but the hints of a smile were far from hidden from the blonde captain. Nevertheless, the sombre mood returned swiftly over their prospects of survival.

* * *

Ruby Rose was many things, but submissive she was most definitely not, as she found herself in the midst of a heated argument with her commanding officer. Now let it be said that although she had a tendency to bend the rules, she had a healthy respect for the authority and skill of her superiors, and for the most part she followed orders to the letter. Nevertheless, there were always exceptions to everything.

It wasn't too long ago that they received an incoming message from their sister ship, 'The Maid of Orleans', requesting their assistance in the escort of a mercantile vessel en route for Vale after sustaining damages in a Grimm encounter. Their bridge buzzed into life, as their sister ship in question and its hearty crew had garnered a strong reputation of being seemingly invincible within the Atlesean navy. To most of those present, the news of a Grimm threat present in one of their busiest trade routes was alarming in of itself, but to have wounded a ship such as the 'Maid' to the extent that they required assistance in a routine escort mission, put the entire crew on high alert.

The 'Crusade' was in a prime location to assist, merely half an hour away in terms of travel time. Yet its captain had demanded they stayed put until the request was formally sanctioned by Admiral Schnee. So in compliance to his orders, they relayed the transmission back to Atlas command, before being redirected to Valean authorities to request for formal permission to operate within their airspace, and finally a personal message from Admiral Schnee herself to seal the deal. What could've been a swift declaration of action had become an extended dispute over bureaucracy. Even at that point, the captain merely ordered the crew to meander over there at half-speed, as if expecting time to slow down to his personal pace. It wasn't until the unexpected rendezvous with the mercantile vessel 'Gallia', bearing news of a pirate assault, that the captain finally regained some semblance of urgency.

Describing Ruby as irredeemably annoyed at this point would be a gross understatement. She had served long enough and experienced too much to underestimate the urgency of every mission. Every second could cost lives if nobody was present to intervene, and she was far from afraid of letting it be known.

"Captain, I advised that we should've answered their call immediately. The situation is unfolding rapidly, and it is far from optimistic from what the 'Gallia' has told us." Ruby spoke clearly and steadily, albeit her mind was a cocktail of anxiety and frustration. She was typically quiet and somewhat awkward in usual situations, and boy was she aware of it. Nevertheless, the rose had a knack of switching into 'Commander Mode', as her sister had nicknamed, in the blink of an eye whenever necessary.

"Lieutenant Rose, we've already spoken about this. Atlas and the other kingdoms have necessary procedures set in place, and we must follow them to avoid unnecessary repercussions." Her captain replied offhandedly, seemingly more interested in his nails than her argument.

She was fuming at this point, frustrated beyond end at the apathy of her commanding officer. It had been quite some time since she joined the Atlesean forces, but it didn't take long for her to gain the ability to discern those who had similar intentions as her for enlisting. Ruby joined the navy to simply protect people; it had been her dream since her time as a young girl, to fight for what was right and to protect those who could not protect themselves, akin to the heroes of her favourite childhood stories as told by her mother. She yearned to bring comfort and joy to those around her, and while some might call her unrealistic or naïve, she felt that it was an incredible honour to make the world a better place in the best way she knew how to, through combat against all forms of evil. Although the people who shared her intentions were far and few in-between, they were a trustworthy and respectable bunch in Ruby's eyes, but unfortunately her captain was not a member of this particular group of individuals.

Captain Cardin Winchester of the 65th Atlesean Air-Fleet, under direct command of Admiral Winter Schnee, was far from a simple soul. His intentions for enlisting had always been shrouded by some level of mystery, resulting in a wide spectrum of rumours circulating throughout the entire fleet. Perhaps it was the money, or the fame and glory, or simply the continuation of his family legacy, as the Winchesters were one of the four great Atlas families. The young captain was one of two individuals given the honour of commanding their own fully-fledged ship before the age of 30 underneath the 65th fleet's command banner. It was an honour that was difficult to receive by any means underneath the scrupulous eye of their rather frosty admiral. However, Winchester was far from the textbook image of honour in Ruby's eyes. He was a bully and a vicious fighter, an effective matrimony between aggression and hostility.

"But captain, there are lives at stake!" Ruby countered vehemently.

"Hence the reason we're moving into position, or is that not in accordance to your desires lieutenant?" He snarled back at her, displaying his teeth in a show of intimidation.

' _Yup, still a bully…'_ She rolled her eyes at him. After all, she didn't get to her position at age 26 by falling for such cheap tactics. Each officer of the Atlesean naval force received mandatory hunter training after their promotion to chief petty officer, regardless of their background, and she was far from afraid to show off its results in reply.

"Sir, that is far from what I meant! I am merely stating that there was a possibility that we could've prevented the conflict in its entirety, if we arrived sooner." She kept her voice level, maintaining eye contact.

The captain in front of her narrowed his eyes, gnashing his teeth in frustration at her subtle displays of insubordination. "Do not make me repeat myself Lieutenant Rose, I wi-"

"Captain," a voice called out over the bridge, interrupting the man's threats, "we're approaching the AO!"

With one final glare Cardin removed his sights from her, turning to face the imminent view of battle from the bridge. What they saw exceeded all expectations. The mere sight of the two ships who were supposedly locked in a battle to the death parked beside each other in almost perfect harmony was odd in itself, but what the two were commonly facing was much more horrendous. A serpent-like creature of immeasurable size moved towards the two, while a barrage of explosive shells struck its hide and armour, the colour of their impacts dying the horizon for miles to see.

"Sir, we have to intervene now!" Ruby turned desperately to her commanding officer, putting aside all traces of insubordination for another day.

"Are you insane Rose? Do you know what that is?" He eyed her incredulously, mouth agape in what appeared to be fear.

"It's a Leviathan." She deadpanned. Outwardly, she was inconceivably clam. Inwardly, she was screaming in a mixture of utter fear and desire to combat the monstrous Grimm. Not only was it was their duty as members of the navy to combat any form of Grimm threat that endangered the populace in any way, which in this case included well-used trade routes, but it was also a legendary-class Grimm that had potential to grow even further with age. The huntress within her growled in excitement, ecstatic over the opportunity to engage a Grimm of such magnitude and strength. It was the type of Grimm that adorned children's tales, providing worthy adversaries to the mighty heroes of bedtime stories, all the while haunting the minds and desires of every sailor and hunter.

"Then you know that we cannot take it alone!" The captain spoke quickly, as the feelings of frustration returned within Ruby's gut. "We are retreating and contacting the rest of the fleet, we will regroup in time to take it down before it becomes a larger nuisance."

"SO YOU'RE JUST GOING TO ABANDON THEM?!" She was surprised to find herself yelling, surprised at the feelings of passion and desperation that spiraled wildly throughout her entire body.

"DAMMIT ROSE, IT'S TWO HEAVILY ARMED VESSELS DOWN THERE! WE'VE ALREADY GOT THE CIVILIANS OUT, THEY CAN HOLD OUT FOR REINFORCEMENTS!" He reciprocated her sheer volume, their voices probably reverberating throughout the entire ship for all to hear.

"WHAT IF THEY CAN'T? ONE OF OURS IS DOWN THERE!"

"THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINTS; IT'S ONLY ONE OF OURS AND A PIRATE! WE DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO TAKE IT DOWN!" They exchanged another set of glares, neither of them willing to turn away.

"So you're not even going to try?" She spoke flaccidly, her voice now devoid of all outward emotion.

"Yes, we don't have a choi-" Before he could finish his sentence, Ruby surprised herself for the second time today, finding her semblance empowered fist impacting the man's face at Mach-speed. Their initial shouting match may have garnered the interest of the on-bridge crew, but now it had attained its full undivided attention.

The Rose found herself in an awkward situation that would forever go down in her family history. _'Oh god, oh god no, what in Oum's name am I supposed to do now? I'm so dead after all of this is over,'_ her mind temporarily regressing into that of a bumbling inexperienced teen. She nervously examined the rest of the bridge, while each member continued to stare back at her with expressions of unmatchable shock and a few of respect. Her mind operated at the speed of light, attempting to compute the repercussions of her impulsive actions. On one hand, she had an unconscious commanding officer that would probably kill her after this ordeal was over, and on the other, a crew that needed leading. And so, she steeled her resolve and turned to address the rest of the bridge.

"Hello everyone… Ummm, Captain Winchester is indisposed at the moment," she scoffed internally at her diplomatic description, "so as 'Lieutenant Commander' of the 'Crusade', I shall be taking charge." Ruby looked around nervously at the sea of faces watching her owlishly, reminiscent of a similar episode concerning sudden leadership roles and the more blundering part of her nature during her time in officer school. To her great relief, the crew merely nodded in reply, returning to their positions like clockwork in preparation for her orders.

"Everyone to battle stations, we are entering combat! We shall be providing covering fire for our sister ship, 'The Maid of Orleans', allowing them an opportunity to disengage from the enemy and regroup. Ensign, I need you to relay a message to the rest of the 65th fleet, the Grimm must be contained before it imposes a danger to civilians!" The bridge bustled with life, orders relayed to all corners of the ship as they moved steadily closer to the sound of battle. The 'Crusade' roared in speed, seemingly heated to enter the fray of battle, matching the fervour of its red-themed temporary commanding officer. After all, they had a Grimm to hunt.

* * *

 _ **Some Time ago…**_

"Jaune?"

"Yes, Pyrrha?" The two captains continued to look forward at the approaching Grimm, as both stood in the bridge of the 'Maid' in a rather surprisingly amicable and calm fashion.

"I really don't like this plan…" The redheaded captain released a weary sigh, wondering inwardly just how she got herself into this situation.

"Then maybe you should've thought of that before you attacked my ship." He replied a matter-of-factly.

"Hindsight's a terrible mistress, isn't it?" She spoke almost aimlessly, as her sight remained trained on the Leviathan before them.

"I believe the word you are looking for is 'bitch'." Pyrrha slugged the blonde's shoulder nonchalantly, expressing her discontent over the man's sarcasm; although, it was rather refreshing considering their somewhat dire predicament.

Silence once again returned between the two, as each was unsure on how to interact with the other. Not only were they natural enemies due to their respective occupations, but neither were particularly in any mood for banter.

"I still can't believe you we didn't lose a single fighter on our end…" The blonde captain broke off the silence first, his voice resounding clearly with a hint of wariness.

"Like I've said before, I prefer to avoid bloodshed if possible." She didn't turn to face him, uncertain of what sort of expression she should display to the blonde.

"Yes, although our med bays are overflowing at this point," she was not apologetic about that, "nonetheless, you're rather…admirable for a pirate." Pyrrha giggled inwardly at his pause, relieved to know that he too shared her feelings of ambiguity concerning the other.

"Not a difficult task, considering the bar most have set." She replied humorously with a smirk, highlighting the tints of humour budding within her voice.

"Nevertheless, it is a fact. Can I ask why?"

"Just because."

"Really?"

"I am a pirate, Captain Arc. I cannot be held to any conventional standard."

He sighed lightly at her answer, utterly confounded by her rather unique disposition. "You really are a _different_ brand of scum and villainy... I truly cannot discern which is worse." He reciprocated her smirk with one of his own, although one of bemusement rather than amusement.

"Same could be said of you, neither of us lost a single crewman to the other today."

"It was a business decision really. You don't usually collect the bounty of dead sailors." Jaune shot a cheeky wink towards her.

She chuckled bemusedly before silence once more descended between the two, promoting the rather awkward atmosphere. To her relief, it did not last as long, as the blonde once again pierced through it.

"Why are you here anyway?" The blonde questioned quietly, its volume barely louder than a whisper.

"What ever could you mean Captain?" She replied teasingly, giggling at his blatant annoyance.

"Why are you on my ship rather than your own?" He questioned again with an increased tone of authority strengthening his voice.

"To promote a sense of trust between newfound partners?" He raised an eyebrow at her answer, before shaking his head and releasing a sigh.

"Just answer the question Nikos."

"Because it was the honourable thing to do Jaune."

He again raised an eyebrow at her answer, apparently not expecting her given answer, considering the width of his ocean-blue eyes. "Care to elaborate?"

Pyrrha finally turned to face him, displaying a proud smile to the blonde. "Of course, I'd be happy to. As a child, I was raised under a set of principles by my father. My mother was rather occupied with her…" She struggled for a moment to find the right words for situation, "…role in Mistral. Hence, my father practically raised me alone and he taught me everything I know. He taught me to seek victory in every situation. 'Even in the bleakest of nights there will always be a shimmer of light, a hint of the incoming dawn,' he used to say almost every day.

On the other hand, he also taught me that there are various methods of achieving victory, some more honourable than others, while some sported different tiers of difficulty, but it was always victory of your own volition and parameters that provided the most satisfaction. Contrary to popular belief, or the words of the 'rumour-mill', I am not a lawless harlot of destruction. I have a standard of morality I maintain and follow, just like everybody else. Just because my occupation tends to overturn a number of societal conventions concerning the trade and sale of goods, many seem to think of me as a monster, while in reality I am merely human for attempting to provide for myself with the skills I have honed over many years. How does that make me different from the tradesmen and politicians, the hunters and huntress, what differentiates you and I is merely the titles we've earned, and whose side the law is in bed with. Hence, you do not ask of another what you yourself are unwilling to do. Since you are essentially garnering the beast's attention and exposing your entire crew to danger, while my ship pelts it from the opposite side in relative safety, I would be unable to live with myself if I did not expose myself to the same experience. Call it foolish, idiotic, or naïve, but I am more than a common criminal Jaune Arc, and I shall act as such." Pyrrha finished quietly, sighing wearily as she faced the floor, reflecting upon the surprising extensiveness of her rant towards a mere acquaintance, an unwilling one to boot. Yet, she couldn't prevent herself from sneaking a peak at the blonde, who to her utter surprise was directing a rather soft expression towards her.

"Perhaps you are right…" Jaune spoke softly, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. It was odd feeling to say the least for Pyrrha. Never in her life had foe became friend so quickly in the short span of a few hours.

"Besides, it ensures that I won't be tempted to run away during the fight, a fact that you are undoubtedly very appreciative of Captain." She spoke amusedly with hints of anxious undertones, returning to her more dominating persona rather hurriedly.

Jaune shook his head at her display and was on the verge of replying, before being interrupted by the crew of the bridge. The Leviathan was fast approaching their position and it was about time to enact their plan. The 'Maid' thundered with life, seemingly yearning to meet the beast. Their hunt was on, yet nobody bar time knew who would ultimately rise as the 'hunter' and who the 'hunted'.

* * *

 **AN:** **Hello once again ladies and gents, I truly hoped you enjoyed this chapter, learning more about our characters and introducing new ones in the context of this universe. I'd just like to ask a few questions concerning the quality and content of this particular, so here I go.**

 **1\. I am well-aware the Leviathan is originally a sea monster that terrorized sailors, and concerning the fact that these are airships, I believe the name can be repurposed as such.**

 **2\. I introduced Scarlet of SSSN as part of Pyrrha's crew, somewhat an obvious choice, but just letting you know that since we know so little of his personality from canon, he will probably be unique in terms of characterization (I'll try to keep him close to what little we know).**

 **3\. I introduced an older and more experienced Ruby Rose, kick ass levels through the roof. I hoped she came out as realistically as possible, and not OOC. Time and experienced is harsh mistress, so the machinations and naivete of her younger days will not be as apparent, but I still wanted to portray the same courageous and compassionate soul we all know and love. PLEASE, leave a review or PM me about her direction, I want to do Ruby's character justice.**

 **4\. We learned more about Pyrrha in this chapter, she has a moral compass and standards of operation. She still isn't the selfless and saint-like heroine we know and love, but I hope its a step in the right direction. PLEASE, leave a review or PM me about this too (alongside the Ruby one), I require a quality check. (BTW Pyrrha does not support slavery, it's a poke at the typical actions of a pirate! I may have not done this well enough, but might as well make it obvious here).**

 **5\. This chapter was supposed to double its length, but I had to redo the entire fight scene with the Leviathan due to 'quality-control', essentially it was (pardon my language) complete shit. I'll get it done sometime this week.**

 **Thanks again ladies and gents, I hope you enjoyed another chapter of this AU and I hope you continue to do so. If you liked it, leave a review, a follow or a fav, and if you did not, leave a review and tell what you didn't like. I'll keep writing to prove you otherwise. Thanks again.**


	4. Chapter 04: Irregular Culminations

**AN: Ending to our first arc. it's a little less epic in terms of fight scenes, because they're trying to whittle down a massive Grimm with damaged weapons, so less fancy maneuvers. However, quite a number of revelations about the story and characters. I also tried a slightly altered writing style, which I will require an opinion on at the end of the chapter if you would like to contribute. Thanks and enjoy the chapter.**

 **Reminder: I am Canadian, so I spell using the British system. So please don't be too bothered about it.**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Irregular Culminations**

* * *

" _Endings to be useful must be inconclusive."_

 _\- Samuel R. Delany_

The beast was fast approaching and time was of the essence for Jaune and his crew. They had planned accordingly to their available resources and although it may have been desperate, it was the best they could do. The role of the 'Maid' was to provide interference for the 'Achilles', utilizing its greater manoeuvrability and speed to provide an attractive target for the Leviathan to chase, while their counterpart would utilize their greater firepower to cripple the beast. The goal was far from actually slaying the beast, rather to gain the opportunity for a swift exit out of stage left with their lives intact.

Nevertheless, very few plans survived first contact with the enemy, let alone one as rudimentary and ill-prepared as theirs. The 'Achilles' had a crippled underbelly after their initial bout, devastating its primary combat abilities as a battleship, constraining it to remain at maximum weapon range to minimize the risk of losing the ship in its entirety against the titan of a Grimm. On the other hand, the 'Maid' had sustained extensive damage to its deck, albeit their wounds were less severe, Pyrrha had stated that she initially planned to only weaken the ship, allowing it to be boarded and taken. In the end, the same problem remained; neither of them were prepared to handle a Leviathan.

Yet Jaune continued to have hope, as the 'Maid' whirled into life to meet the Leviathan. Hope was after all humanity's greatest weapon against the Grimm. The ability to persevere against all odds and innovate in times of hardship had always carried them through the darkest of days, and he dearly hoped that today would be no different.

"Everyone, full speed ahead and ready the starboard guns for a sweep on the Leviathan's right side. We are aiming for its fins and less armoured joints!" He ordered calmly, his voice almost quiet, yet continued to carry an air of authority.

The officers of the bridge quickly acted, scurrying off to their respective stations to comply with his orders. The place sounded lively, but it was eerie in Jaune's opinion. In most cases, the bridge would be filled with the voices of its occupants, shouts and yells concerning orders, laughter over a simple joke shared among them, or even gasps of surprise at their various experiences over the past year, but today there was none of that. The only sounds to reverberate in the space were the nervous tells of various officers, arrhythmic foot tapping, irregular inhalations and exhalations of breath, with the occasional cracking of well-worn knuckles, all in the absence of actual speech.

However, all remained alert and ready, anxious yet anticipative for whatever may come, and for the umpteenth time today, Jaune was proud of his crew, his comrades and family-in-arms.

"Captain, we are approaching the target!" Ren stated, keeping an eye on the growing size of the Leviathan.

The beast let out another vicious roar, flexing its anatomy in another intimidating show of strength before swiftly moving towards their starboard side with mouth agape.

"FIRE!" Jaune hollered out the order, as the 'Maid' unleashed a barrage of dust shells and bullets towards the creature's open mouth. The effects were immediate, as the Leviathan screeched in pain and diverted its course by diving underneath them.

"Prepare for evasive manoeuvres, it'll rise soon enough!" In accordance to the blonde's words, it rose again from the sea of clouds immediately underneath them. Its mouth stretched wide open in an attempt to cleanly crush the ship into two with its teeth.

There wasn't enough time to move, it was much too fast to evade. The battle would've been over immediately with their overwhelming defeat, at least if they were alone. From quite a distance away, the sounds of heavy dust artillery reverberated throughout the sky. Detonations of heavy-calibre dust shells rocked the Leviathan's head, destroying pieces of its plated carapace and once again coercing it to divert its course.

Pyrrha had ordered the 'Achilles' to fire, as she stood beside him on the bridge. She was furiously shouting orders over the short-range CCT, instructing her crew with precision and haste. The plan depended on almost perfect synergy between the two ships to ensure their mutual survival, and luckily for all of them, she was a rather amicable person to work with to Jaune's surprise.

"Jaune, we need a minute to reload the heavier guns on the 'Achilles'. Can you buy us some time?" Pyrrha spoke quickly, again emphasizing the urgency of their situation.

"Yes. Everyone, we're chasing the Leviathan down! Maintain distance from it and keep it on our starboard side, attempt to contain it within this quadrant of space and keep it in our sights at all times, we are running continued interference for the 'Achilles'. Officers, keep our dust usage to a minimum, only utilize the smaller guns. Ren, funnel the rest of the dust into the 'Edelweiss', we will be using it as a contingency plan." Jaune ordered promptly, before returning his eyes to the horizon in search of the beast.

It wasn't long until the beast reappeared again, from the horizon it rushed towards them at almost impossible speeds, aiming to impact the 'Maid' headfirst. Their guns fired rapidly on the plates that covered its head, with little to no effect on its chosen trajectory.

"DIVE!" The 'Maid' began swiftly tilting downwards, narrowly escaping death by Grimm skull. However, the ship was far from unscathed from the Leviathan's assault. The Grimm had clipped them, destroying the main mast of their sail system, diminishing a large aspect of their manoeuvrability and in turn their battle potential.

Nevertheless, they completed their initial task with flying colours, as another barrage of dust shells impacted the Leviathan from over the horizon. The detonations rocked the nearby 'Maid', as they watched in awe over the destructive light show above them. Unfortunately, the Leviathan emerged with little to no damage, with the exception of a widening gap of exposed flesh just below its left eye.

Jaune released a weary sigh, annoyed at the lack of significant progress on harming, let alone crippling the Leviathan. But in the end, they had to press forward. The 'Maid' accelerated once again, firing off its smaller dust guns to garner the attention of the beast once again.

* * *

The two had raced along the sky, displaying a deadly dance between machine and monster, as the 'Maid' continued to pelt the beast's tough hide in an attempt to harm it on any level. Again and again, they bought time for the 'Achilles' to reload and gain a clear line of sight to fire, yet time and time again, they succeeded in everything but actually harming the damned beast. Its protective armour had shattered in multiple places surrounding its eyes and face, its fins clipped and damaged in a myriad of levels, and yet they did not once draw the Grimm's blood with their armaments. No matter the calibre, the regularity, or the target, its mighty hide held strong.

The 'Maid' was currently parked alongside the 'Achilles', after gaining a momentary respite from battle. The beast had abruptly chosen to discontinue its straightforward charges, instead choosing to simply circle them, temporarily observing them at a distance. It was incredibly eerie to say the least.

' _What is it doing now? And what in seven hell's name is this thing made of? It's virtually indestructible; you might as well build a mobile base on top of this damned thing…'_ Jaune clenched his fist in frustration, while Pyrrha also shared his feelings, occasionally clutching the hilt of Mílo at her hip in an attempt to calm herself. Regardless of the Grimm's condition, they definitely came out of the exchange much worse for wear. It had only been fifteen minutes at most since the beginning of their battle, but their dust storages were dwindling quickly and the crew run ragged over the constant myriad of manoeuvres they had to employ to stay afloat. The 'Achilles' in contrast had remained physically untouched, but its crew and dust storages were also in a similar state of despondence.

Gritting his teeth, Jaune turned to his lieutenant, "Ren, we're firing the 'Edelweiss'…"

The entire bridge turned to face him with an upturned eyebrow, all of them understanding the implications of his actions. Frowns were spread throughout the on-bridge crew, yet none of them could disagree that the gun's firepower could finally be the breakthrough they required to succeed.

"At once, sir." Ren replied solemnly, returning to his station in preparation to fire.

"Helmsmen, get us a clear shot on its eye. We've cleared out most of the carapace on the left one and we will take advantage of it. The rest of you, stabilize the ship as much as possible, we have one shot for this, and so all bets are off. Pyrrha, can you get us some covering fire?" The redhead beside him could only nod, activating her earpiece to direct the 'Achilles'.

The 'Achilles' complied immediately, firing upon the Grimm and pulling its undivided attention, as it roared once again at the declaration of reinstated battle. Once again, detonations decorated the Grimm's body, and once again the creature essentially shrugged them off like air. Nevertheless, the volley had provided the 'Maid' with valuable time as intended.

Jaune had ordered the ship to move forward, flanking the beast and gaining a clean target for the gunners on the bridge. They were all ready to fire, with fingers hovering over the triggers displayed on their respective consoles. Time on the bridge seemed to momentarily stall, as breaths were held and bodies stiffened in anticipation, all waiting for the orders of one blonde.

"FIRE!" He spoke deafeningly, his voice thundering over the reverberations of cannon fire. Then time seemed to have sped up, as their minds struggled to compute the sight transpiring before them. The 'Maid' had fired all forward facing guns, and the resulting blend of red and white was strangely mesmerizing to the crew, ironically encompassing all their hopes in a volley of vicious destruction. Even so, the light of the 'Edelweiss' distinguished itself in the rapid volley of armaments.

The 'Edelweiss' was a modified rail gun, the pride and ultimatum of the 'Maid'. A standard issue rail gun was provided to a number of Battlecruisers and Destroyers within the Atlesean fleet, an incredibly powerful weapon that could fire a projectile at approximately five times the speed of sound, while sporting a firing range of close to 370 km. Each fired round sported an incredible amount of kinetic energy, a value very close to 33 mega-joules. On the other hand, this was Nora's personal rail gun. Jaune had once taken a look at the field test results on the gun, and they were very, very intimidating. On record, it had pierced cleanly through four Goliaths with a single shot, in comparison to the two the standard issue was able to eradicate, and Oum knows what other things Nora had tested her weapon on. It was also much more expensive to fire, requiring double the amount of dust. Yet today Jaune felt it would be well worth it, for today would be its first field test against a Leviathan, or anything of its size and age for that matter. The 'Edelweiss' was a testament to not only Nora's ingenuity, but also humanity's ingenuity as a whole in combating the Grimm, and Jaune desperately hoped that it would be enough to bring them home.

As the shell impacted the Grimm, the following detonation was probably deafening to entire populace of Remnant, while the flash of light could probably be seen all the way in Vacuo. The creature was now covered in smoke, momentarily breaking the ships' line of sight, as they all waited with withheld breath.

The smoke began to slowly clear, and withheld breathe gave way to sorrow. Out of the smoke emerged the Leviathan, as livid and as vicious as ever, if not more after their assault. _'DAMMIT, was this all for nothing then…'_ Jaune once again clenched his fists in frustration, feeling his nails drawing blood as they dug deeper into his skin. He could do nothing but face the floor, feeling all hope slowly drain away from him, and in its place feelings of helplessness and despair running rampant within his psyche.

"JAUNE, LOOK!" The blonde felt a warm hand come upon his shoulder, coercing him into following the voice's direction. As he faced the horizon, he saw it. He saw the eye of the Leviathan or in actually what was left of it; its remnants grotesque and scattered, resulting in nothing more than an expanded eyelid for the Grimm. The 'Edelweiss' had succeeded, the wound was somewhat small in comparison to the rest of the creature, but it had drawn blood. They had drawn first blood against a creature of legend itself. It was no kill, no story worthy of its own legend just yet, but it was a victory nonetheless.

He turned to find the owner of the hand placed on his shoulder, finding a familiar redheaded pirate queen watching him. The two shared a small smile of triumph, as he silently thanked her with a subtle nod.

They had against all odds gained a small victory, and they'd be damned if they didn't push it. Jaune returned to addressing the bridge, yelling out orders and devising a plan to press their advantage, only to be interrupted by the entrance of a familiar ship. He couldn't resist his growing smile at the flashing display that appeared in front of him: 'Incoming Call: 65th Atlesean Air-Fleet Battlecruiser, Crusade'.

* * *

"Captain Arc, this is Lieutenant Commander Ruby Rose of the 'Crusade'. We've received your request for aid and are happy to help." Ruby quickly saluted the blonde officer on screen, while feelings of anxiousness began welling up inside of her. _'Please, please, please, don't ask about Captain Winchester…'_ She gulped loudly at the thought.

"Well met lieutenant, but where is Winchester?" The blonde raised his eyebrow at her.

"He is indisposed at the moment." Ruby deadpanned, keeping her face as stoic as possible, while internally screaming in agony.

"Indisposed?"

"Indisposed," she affirmed promptly.

"No matter, we can discuss this later. We thank you for your assistance lieutenant; may I take command of this operation and trust you to follow my orders?" The blonde spoke authoritatively with practiced ease, oddly soothing her nerves.

"Of course captain, we are under your command." She nodded at him.

"Good, keep the audio channel open when you close the video channel. I'll be issuing general orders concerning the overall battlefield, but I trust in your judgement and skill to execute them in any way you wish. Are these conditions acceptable lieutenant?" She swiftly saluted the captain, a reply which in turn elicited a subtle smile from the blonde.

"Excellent lieutenant Rose, Captain Winchester is very lucky to have you," he joked on screen, causing her to imperceptibly blush at the sudden offhanded compliment. The moment of humour was brief though, as they quickly receded into a more solemn mood, "prepare yourself, here it comes." At his word, she returned her attention to the recovering Leviathan.

* * *

"Rose, continue firing upon the Leviathan's wound, try to stay at maximum firing range. You will be firing interchangeably with the 'Achilles', keep it as close to a continuous barrage as possible. The 'Maid' will continue running interference." Jaune ordered quickly into the newly opened audio channel.

"Achilles?" A voice questioned in his ear.

"Big red battleship to your starboard side." He replied promptly, as his mind continued to plan accordingly with the addition of a valuable ally. The entrance of a fresh ship was a blessing in itself, but another armed with a rail gun was truly a heaven-sent gift from Oum himself, and Jaune was not the type to be ungrateful about a gift. "Lieutenant Rose, we're counting on you to hit its wound with your rail gun. It's the only weapon that has proven effective against the beast. The rest of your armaments will probably be easily shrugged off if experience is to be believed."

"Yes sir!" She replied somewhat cheerily, surprising the blonde immensely and drawing another small smile out of him.

He once again returned to address his own crew, "Alright, we're in the final stretch now ladies! We've proven once that we can wound the damned thing and we're going to do it again. Our goal is to draw out the Leviathan for a clear shot from the 'Crusade'. So Helmsmen, full speed ahead"

Various iterations of agreement roared from the bridge, morale had finally swung back in their favour. From the appearance of actual reinforcements to wounding the Leviathan itself, they had survival in their sights, and for them it was enough. The 'Maid' once again charged into battle, heading towards the Grimm with engines alight. Its guns mostly deactivated after firing the 'Edelweiss', its hull battered and bruised, and its mast broken, yet it carried forward with incredible speed.

They darted forward, barely evading the jaws of Leviathan as it shot forward after recovering from its initial shock over the wound. It followed them viciously, pushed forward by strong musculature moving in a snake-like manner, slithering through the air with great ease. Although it remained quick and nimble, it had slowed by some amount as the effects of the wound had finally begun rearing its effects. The Leviathan was now blind out of its left eye, preventing it from making swift turns to one side, whilst also being an incredible detriment to its spatial awareness, a fact that they were very willing to exploit.

The 'Maid' continued to stay on the Leviathan's left side, firing whatever smaller gun they had dust for, retaining its attention from the other two ships. 'Achilles' remained on firing duty, pelting the Grimm with whatever they could find to shatter more of its protective carapace, while preventing the Grimm from closing in on the 'Maid'. Finally, they were able to draw the Grimm out into position, its body extended freely over the horizon and wound completely exposed for the 'Crusade' to exploit.

"Lieutenant Rose, fire now!" Jaune directed through his earpiece, as the sounds of cannon fire resounded behind them.

All on the bridge could practically feel the projectile fly above them towards the Leviathan's wound, and although quite a distance away they also felt the following detonation. The 'Maid' was rocked to its core, as Jaune and company held on to whatever stationary object they could find to steady themselves.

Nevertheless, they persevered, and unfortunately, so did the Leviathan. As the smoke began to clear, the beast emerged from the smoke with a resounding roar, further angered by their attempts to harm it. As it worked to supress its pain and recover from its wound, Jaune observed the wound once again. It had indeed grown deeper and larger on behalf of the Crusade, yet it was far from decisive to his dismay. The blonde captain cringed, searching his mind for some solution to their problem. Apparently only the 'Edelweiss' or some weapon of its calibre could harm the Leviathan, even with an open wound provided beforehand. And so, he opened a communications channel to engineering.

"Nora."

"Heyo fearless leader!" A boisterous voice promptly resounded throughout the bridge.

"Can we fire the 'Edelweiss' again?" Jaune inquired anxiously, hoping that the answer would be contrary to his predictions.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH," the laughter continued to grow louder, as the blonde unconsciously found his hands moving towards his face, "AHaha-ha-almost impossible boss." The chief engineer finally finished after recovering from her rather inopportune laughing fit.

"Can't we divert anything else into it?" He rubbed the bottom of his chin, attempting to discern a possible solution in the momentary respite they had gained.

"Well we could, if we had anything else to divert. We've got enough fire dust to create another artillery shell for it, but we're fresh out of lightning dust to power the weapon itself. The rail gun requires quite a bit of it to generate the necessary power for an electromagn-"

"Nora, we get it. It's not going to run," Jaune interrupted the engineer, knowing her well enough to notice the necessary tells to prevent one of her rants. "What about-"

"Before you ask Jaune-Jaune, I already thought about using my semblance. It's not going to work, I don't produce enough electricity to start the generator, let alone power the entire thing." She in turn had interrupted him, affirming his worries.

Silence had once again returned to bridge, as present crew turned to face their blonde captain for direction. Jaune himself was once again lost in thought, _'There was no way we could resupply off of the 'Crusade', the Grimm's not going to sit and wait for us. At the same time, nothing else we have could possibly harm the damned thing…'_ Jaune's mind kicked up a storm, threatening to overwhelm him with feelings of sheer panic, as thought after thought whirled wildly within the recesses of his mind, only stopping when a singular memory began overshadowing the rest. It was a recent memory, an image of a javelin pressed dangerously against his temple in midair.

He turned swiftly to the redheaded pirate queen and temporary ally at his side, a manic grin uncontrollably growing on his expression. "Hey Pyrrha, what exactly is your semblance?" The question was received by a raised eyebrow from the redhead in question. "Depending on your answer, I believe we've found ourselves a solution." She continued to eye him sceptically, while his grin only continued to grow.

* * *

As Pyrrha walked deeper into the core of the 'Maid', she felt an odd blend of emotions well up within her. On one hand, it was excitement over the events that had transpired in the past day. She had found an equal in battle, albeit the failure in actually taking the ship and its escorted cargo was somewhat disappointing, it paled in comparison to the exhilaration she felt during her duel. On the other hand, she was involuntary pushed into an unfavourable position with the appearance of the Grimm, and although unlikely rudimentary alliances were quite common in her chosen field of work, she wouldn't have ever imagined working with an Atlesean vessel, let alone trusting its captain with their lives.

"Pyrrha?" A singular voice pierced through the silence, and in turn her musings.

"Hmmm?" She replied absentmindedly.

"Are you ready?" Jaune inquired softly in front of her, as she realized that they had somehow reached their desired destination, a subsection of the engineering bay that housed the inner workings of the 'Edelweiss'. She gave her partner a curt nod, and the two continued to walk forward, searching for one particular set of machinery.

 _'How did it come to this?'_ She pondered the question that had haunted her many times over the years, while the echoing of their footsteps throughout the empty space served as her only source of distraction. It had only been moments ago that Jaune had concocted a plan that even surprised his closest officers and friends, a plan that involved a particular ability of hers that went surprisingly noticed by the blonde in the midst of battle, her semblance. Pyrrha's semblance was polarity, it was incredibly useful and rather powerful if utilized correctly, but it was far from all mighty. Yet it had nonetheless brought a smile out of the blonde, hence the reason for their rather uneventful journey into the depths of the ship.

She once again fell behind the blonde's pace, losing herself to her personal musings. The plan was rather simple actually, albeit a little unorthodox. The power generator that drove the rail gun utilized kinetic energy produced by a set of mechanical turbines, typically powered by lightning dust, which served as an initial energy source for the generator. The lightning dust was also utilized to jump start the device, creating an electromagnetic pulse that indirectly propelled their chosen projectile with whatever force it could create from an electric current and their respective magnetic fields within the two rails, hence the name 'rail gun'. At least that's what she understood from Nora's brief explanation on the bridge.

So the plan was essentially jumpstarting the device with Nora's semblance of electricity, while she moved the turbines to provide the majority of required energy. It was odd to say the least, but seemed to be quite feasible, at least theoretically. Hence the reason for her anxiety, there were too many unknowns concerning her abilities. The generator was apparently the size of a large truck, ignoring the weight of each turbine itself, there were few opportunities to ever test out her abilities to such a degree. The heaviest she had ever lifted was a hollow cargo container that contained a few boxes of dust within it, it had been brutally taxing on her aura and it had drained her for the rest of the day afterwards.

Pyrrha suppressed her worries immediately as a lady with ginger hair came into view over Jaune's shoulders. _'This must be Nora…'_ The ginger in question shot a hearty smile her way, waving to both of them with a shocking level of pep in her every motion.

"Fearless Leader, this is Nora Valkyrie reporting for duty, what are your orders?" Nora spoke hyperactively, displaying an amusing mock salute.

"At ease Valkyrie, we have work to do." Although Jaune's voice was rather stoic, Pyrrha noticed the subtle upturned movements of his cheeks at the woman's antics. "Nora, this is Pyrrha Nikos, she will instrumental to our current plan."

"Hmmmm," the engineer observed the redhead in question carefully, narrowing her eyes warily, "should I keep Magnhild on-hand captain?" Pyrrha felt a bead of sweat unconsciously forming, as her instincts screamed that this person was much more dangerous than she initially appeared.

"Not at the moment, perhaps later." The blonde directed a comforting smile towards her.

"Alrighty then, let's go. Onwards to victory I say!" The Valkyrie began prancing away, further embellishing Pyrrha's feelings of anxiety and hesitance towards this entire endeavour.

She felt a strong hand come upon her shoulder, finding the blonde at the other end of it. She felt a majority of her fears wash away with the sight of his seemingly endless blue eyes, an odd feeling to say the least, but comforting nonetheless. A small genuine smile began forming on her expression, a first with the newly met blonde and a surprising one for its proprietor.

"Let's hurry Pyrrha, the 'Crusade' is running interference, while your crew are risking their lives for us, we can't let any of their efforts go to waste. Shall we?"

"Yes." With newfound courage, the odd duo of naval officer and pirate fell in step with other, running to catch up with the chief engineer in the distance.

* * *

"Captain, this is Lieutenant Commander Rose of the 'Crusade', we're getting into position with the target in tow, are you ready to receive us?" Ruby worked hurriedly at her console, a perfect mix of excitement and joy welling up inside of her in anticipation of whatever the captain had planned. It oddly reminded her of her younger days at the academy to her awkward delight.

* * *

"Jaune, we've loaded the Edelweiss, we're in position to fire and Rose is coming in fast with the Leviathan in tow." Ren spoke quickly into his earpiece, desperately praying and cursing to every god known to him, in past, present, and any possible future.

* * *

"Everyone into positions, we've got moments to spare and by Oum we are going to make it worth it!" The trio had found themselves in front of a set of complicated machinery and hastened to get into position.

"Pyrrha, the turbines are made from magnesium alloy, strongest and lightest material Atlas can provide, so put in everything you GOT!" Nora yelled from across the room.

She gave the engineer a nod, turning to face the mechanical turbines in front of her. They were all taller than her, each spanning close to double her height, larger than anything she had ever controlled with her semblance, but she refused to let her insecurities stop her from trying. After all, she had a duty to keep her crew safe by any means necessary.

So she turned towards the depths of her soul, feeling the familiar weight and sensation of her aura, it protected her, drove her, and strengthened her. She began fashioning it according to her desires, directing it towards the metal constructs in front of her, envisioning their cylindrical movements. Then the sensation of resistance followed, as the turbines refused to move against her desires in accordance to their weight and the laws of motion that governed them. Consequently, she pushed harder, drawing more of her Aura in an attempt to rouse the sleeping machinery. Yet the more she pushed, the weaker she felt; her Aura was running dry and the turbines had barely budged. The deeper she went into the recesses of her soul, the less she could utilize, and in turn her began power waning.

At least until the abrupt entrance of a second party, as golden light enshrouded her entire being and power rushed quickly into her soul. It overwhelmed her for a moment, threatening to incapacitate her due to the sheer volume of Aura, before slowing and allowing her a moment to assimilate it. She felt inexhaustible, as the sensation of infinite light continued to circulate within her, empowering her. She drew upon the seemingly infinite reserve, directing it to strengthen her own power, surprised to find that little to no resistance could be found. The turbines were moving.

* * *

"We're in position Jaune!" Ruby screamed into her earpiece, time seemingly slowing down to a crawl once again. The Leviathan was at their heels, mouth agape and ready to consume the 'Crusade' in its entirety.

* * *

"Captain, are we read-" Ren attempted to reach his commanding officer via his earpiece, interrupted only by the incessant beeping resounding from his console. He turned to determine whatever it may be, only for his eyes to widen in a myriad of emotions, surprise, relief, but most of all joy. The 'Edelweiss' was charged and ready to fire, while a billion thoughts rushed through his mind at the news, only one remained. He brought his hands forward and aimed in the direction of the oncoming Grimm, his finger hovering over the trigger.

* * *

Jaune received Ruby's message clearly, a piercing scream within his ear signalling their deadline. The view in front of him was magnificent, as machinery operated in breakneck speeds and the sounds of moving turbines deafened the room, but his eyes were drawn towards a single person in the room, Pyrrha. She was enveloped in a familiar golden light, while time seemed to have slowed down on his behalf. Her scarlet hair flowed wildly in the air, a gift on behalf of her workmanship with the turbines, as she stood mid turn with a smile, a sight that in turn brought a small smile to his face. Whilst time continued to meander forward, he found himself uttering a single order into his earpiece, "FIRE!"

The sound from the engine was thunderous, numbing his senses as the darkness and floor began to collapse upon him.

* * *

Scarlet David was a man of many things, sporting a myriad of masks and facades over the many experiences within his relatively short life. In accordance to his circumstances, he had grown to fit many roles, whether as a brother, a lover, a romanticist, a realist, an optimist, a pessimist, a thief, a conman, a benefactor, and now a pirate. Yet one thing remained constant, steadfast in the storm he called his life, his loyalty towards his captain, the one person who had never steered him wrong, not even today.

He had been hesitant when she suggested the unlikely alliance with the Atlesean vessel, wary of its officers and self-righteous crewmen. He had lived long enough to know the type, men and women who claimed to work for justice, while merely working towards their own personal gain under the protection of the law. These were the bastards who forced him to take up his masks. Nevertheless, here he was, standing on the bridge of the 'Achilles' and a witness to the triumph their unlikely alliance had accomplished today.

As a flash of light blinded the horizon, a projectile that could scarcely be followed shot forth towards the Leviathan, impacting the very same wound they had inflicted earlier. Without the protection of its outer shell, which had been stripped overtime by the constant volley of artillery, the wound was vulnerable and fresh, a ripe target if he'd ever seen one. The shell ripped through the hide, detonating on impact. All present held their breath with awe, shock, and hope, a triad of emotions swept the entire bridge. But in the end, presentation was meaningless, only results mattered in their line of work.

Once again, the Leviathan released a screech of pain, yet it did not emerge from the smoke, but rather it fell from the plume. It was falling. The beast was retreating.

Cheers resounded throughout the bridge, as Scarlet found himself tossing the jacket slung over his shoulder towards the air in triumph. Their goddess had emerged victorious, and he was damned well happy about it

* * *

 **Somewhere else in time…**

"Ozpin." A stoic man strode up to a table. He was dressed in the standard Atlesean uniform, sporting a simple and clean motif with white as its primary colour. The insignia embedded in his collar signified his rank as a fleet admiral.

"Ironwood," he replied curtly, taking a sip out of his coffee cup, "thank you for replying to my message so eagerly."

"Think nothing of it, you have news?" The admiral waved his hand offhandedly, taking a seat opposite to the grey-haired coffee connoisseur.

"Your two ships, the 'Maid' and the 'Crusade', have recently docked here in Vale. The news they bear is rather concerning. A copy of the report has been sent to your subordinates in Atlas, but I feel that there is something we must discuss in person."

"What about? If it is about that harlot Nikos, then you should know as well as I, she escaped in the midst of battle and could not be apprehended under the circumstances. Nothing more, nothing less Ozpin." Ironwood narrowed his eyes at the man, attempting to discern whatever he wanted to imply or discuss.

"That is what has been reported, but perhaps the truth says otherwise?" Ozpin took another sip out of his cup, further aggravating the admiral.

"Perhaps, but it will not matter for long. We are meeting the two captains here tomorrow in any case, the truth will be revealed in time. Yet, I've known you long enough that you did not drag me away from Atlas for a simple discussion about the truth concerning pirates. What do you want?" The admiral felt his patience wearing thin, half-tempted to slam his fist into the man's table.

"Are you aware of the Leviathan's life cycle?"

"Its life cycle?" Annoyance receded away from the admiral's demeanour, replaced instead by intrigue.

"Yes James, its life cycle." The man replied curtly, taking another sip out of his cup, a habit that eternally annoyed the admiral.

"I am well aware of what everyone else is aware of. Although its method of conception is unknown to this day, we know that it is an incredibly territorial beast, vicious about protecting its boundaries, and never straying too far from its nest. A nest is usually created within a network of caverns rich in dust, as the Leviathan is one of the only known recorded species of Grimm to actually have a diet, albeit its diet of dust is rather odd to say the least. It prefers the higher elevations of mountains and relatively temperate climates, and due to its territorial nature, few other Grimm are able to survive nearby it. However, all of which that do are rather powerful themselves. Am I missing anything else? Why are we even discussing this Ozpin, I understand that my ships had encountered one and were able to somehow wound it, but how is any of this relevant?" Ironwood inquired curiously to the man opposite of him, they may have been equals, but he was well-aware of who was much wiser.

"James, when was the last time you sent a team to scout the surface?"

"Almost five decades ago, we're actually preparing for one in the near future," Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling wearier from the short conversation with his old friend than the long journey from Atlas. "I ask you again Ozpin, what is this about?"

"Well James, according to the reports of your two ships. They fought a battle in this particular quadrant of Vale's air space." Ozpin had activated his scroll, passing it to the admiral. Each kingdom had their own personal map detailing the area around each spire, initially kept as reference for when it was time to return to the surface. They weren't always released to the public or to the other kingdoms, but their existence was common knowledge to the entire populace of Remnant. Nevertheless, the constant Grimm incursions and growing severity of them had halted all plans to actually recolonize and retake the surface. Now, they merely touched the surface to maintain the spires' various structural foundations, alongside the mining of various resources and dust under very heavy protection. It was dangerous work, but it was incredibly necessary. The act of mapping the surface had become merely customary, an activity merely done once every few decades for research and historical purposes.

The map in front of him displayed detailed sketches and notes of whatever land mass nearby laid below the sea of clouds that separated them from the surface, all of which were overrun by Grimm since the past century.

As the fleet admiral observed the map opened out in front of him, he felt his eyes widen and shock invading his expression. It felt like he could barely find air to speak, "There's nothing there, it's in the middle of the ocean…"

Ozpin displayed an amused smirk at the admiral's expression. "Tell me James, how would you like to go on an adventure?"

* * *

 **AN: Hello once again ladies and gents, welcome to the end of our first arc. Lots of stuff have been revealed and more questions created rather than answers I hope. As usual I have questions to ask and things to say, so here we go:  
**

 **1\. The battle wasn't as epic I know, but think of it this way, realistically how would you have taken down a massive Grimm of untold age and strength with two damaged ships? Personally speaking, whittling it down with hit and run tactics seem to make sense considering the available resources, its like trying to take down a MMO raid with only three party members, two rouges and a warrior, difficult ain't it? Most of the battles will be against other people, both ship and personnel, so I can promise you that it will be closer to the style of the two earlier chapters.**

 **2\. Semblances, we have almost no clue about what Jaune's actually is. We've seen it activated twice, once during initiation and once in Forever Fall. All we know is that it is defensive and has healing capabilities, what I did here is I took creative license with it and altered its capabilities while still encompassing what it can actually do in canon. Here Jaune's semblance is that he can amplify the effects of Aura, which could explain how he could solidify his Aura 'force field' to the point of being almost unbreakable and accelerate his healing capabilities, kicker is that he can share. *spoiler, teehee***

 **3\. Sorry for all you Ruby fans out there, we didn't really get to see her being a badass today, and we learned little about her. She and the rest of her team will get a lot more development and be introduced in the following chapters, alongside working to make Pyrrha less OOC. I thank those of you who left a review about their characteristics, and I will continue to ensure that your expectations for quality will be met.**

 **4\. This chapter was a bit all over the place, and for that I sincerely apologize. It is a gongshow, and was somewhat meant to be one, conveying the feelings of desperation and haste of the situation. I am not sure I did this well, so leave a review about it. If it seems mostly negative, I will go back and rewrite this chapter before the next one is released, albeit I am not sure on how to actually do this without direction, hence reviews!**

 **5\. Gotta admit that it ended a bit anticlimactically, but it can't be helped. They didn't kill the Grimm, only forced it to retreated. Leviathan-senpai will be back one day.**

 **6\. After an entire arc, I would appreciate it if some of you could leave a review about the general feeling you got out of the story so far. What are things you liked, things you disliked, things you want to see more of, etc.,etc.**

 **Once again, I thank all of you ladies and gents for taking the time to enjoy my story, the next arc will begin shortly after I write an interlude exploring more of the AU's setting. Don't worry, I will be writing them simultaneously. Good day to you all.**

 **P.S. Longest chapter to date, approx. 6,400 words**


	5. Interlude I: The Truths We Share

**AN: Short interlude between two arcs, helps tell us a bit more about our characters and this AU. PLEASE DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, take offense at the fact I used a biblical quote for this interlude, it is fitting and rather poetic. I am not forcing anything down your throat, just like to get that out there.**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Interlude I: The Truths We Share**

* * *

" _Lord, you have examined me and know all about me."_

 _\- Psalm 139:1, a psalm of David_

 **In a different time and place of the past...**

Jaune Arc questioned how he could have ever found himself in such an awkward situation, at how viciously life's circumstances seemed to have plotted against him. There the blonde sat across his rather taciturn commanding officer in a café in the middle of downtown Atlas, which could not be described as anything but posh. She seemed to be a rather avid fan of this particular establishment's selection of tea, if the small smiles that followed every sip of her cup were to be believed, a fact that Jaune stored away for future emergencies. Her white hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, the only exception being her bangs, brushed off to the right side of her face. She was dressed in a pair of fitting black dress pants, alongside a pristine white leather jacket zipped all the way up, whose backside was adorned with her family crest, a relatively complex snowflake.

Yes, he had somehow found himself to be the companion of the day for Winter Schnee, Atlas Navy's very own 'Executioner of Steel'. Although some would call him lucky to have the opportunity to spend time with such a breathtaking lady, but Jaune would vehemently argue against all of them that it was far from anything that simple. He was proud to serve under such a competent and well-respected captain, and although she seemed somewhat aloof at first glance, she was nonetheless incredibly eloquent and beautiful, a respectable officer, who exuded elegance and authority in her every action. Yet his unique set of past experiences had made him very wary of women such as Winter, courtesy of his beloved sisters, all seven of them to be precise.

So here he was, sitting awkwardly with his back straight and throat dry, while she alternated between smiling at her tea and silently assessing him with her light blue eyes. He wondered just how odd his life could get, vaguely reminiscing about his rather eventful childhood. A suffocating silence continued between the two for quite some time, only occasionally interrupted by the rhythmic tapping of Winter's fingers against the table.

"Lieutenant Arc, are you aware of why I asked you to accompany me today?" Winter finally spoke, as she filled her cup with another serving of tea.

"No ma'am." He replied curtly, relief overflowing over the break of silence.

"Any predictions, lieutenant?"

"None at all, Captain. I have been instructed to only make predictions on the basis of prior knowledge, lest they turn into potentially precarious assumptions." He displayed a rather stilted smile, attempting to dispel the suffocating atmosphere between them.

She let out a surprisingly hearty laugh, one that Jaune initially believed her to be incapable of. "Excellent answer Mr. Arc, a textbook standard. I commend you for your intellect, alongside your strong character."

"What?" He answered dumbly. _'So much for intellect and strong character…'_ Jaune mentally cringed, cursing his apparent social inelegance.

To his relief, and to his dismay, she merely chuckled at his surprise. "Lieutenant, I am well aware of my…'icy' reputation between my subordinates. In addition, my position in the Atlas navy and my family ties further alienate me from them, either from fear or begrudging respect. Although these circumstances of mine may not always be beneficial in terms of developing actual relationships, it helps maintain an image of professionalism and authority. So now, most of the people who converse with me either have a hidden agenda of some kind that requires my participation, or are attempting to further their own status through some semblance of companionship with me. Unfortunate is it not?" Winter looked at her cup of tea a little wistfully, aimlessly stirring it with her spoon.

"I tend to agree with you captain. It seems rather unfortunate that others could not see further than your status, albeit it is a much larger loss on their end than it is yours." He smiled at his captain, mentally slapping himself for letting his mouth run amok with such audacity. "Although if I may be so bold, how does this connect to our earlier discussion?"

She smiled amusedly at his question, taking another sip of her tea before answering. "Well lieutenant, since we've arrived, I have said little to you, yet you continued to be alert and observant, no matter your personal emotions or preconceptions. You probably even noted that this café was possibly a favourite of mine, in the rare case that you needed some method of pacifying me for a trespass of some kind, ridiculous of an idea as it is." Jaune coughed wildly at her surprisingly accurate deduction, an action that elicited a smile out of the captain in question. "But I digress. In addition, although we could probably both agree that the silence was suffocating and very tiring, you remained vigilant and outwardly composed, resisting the temptation to look around for some source of distraction or attempting to break the silence forcefully by engaging in some form of schmoozing, considering my earlier stated circumstances. These actions may seem minute, but they form a good overall testament of your character. After all, how can we truly know a person if we only knew them at their best, or at their worst, and ignore their regular demeanour? Now tell me lieutenant, what was the point of this little exercise?"

Jaune thought for a moment, struggling to place all the seemingly disjointed pieces together. His mind was filled with various memories and facts concerning his commanding officer, searching for any hint of a plausible answer. Nevertheless, like all things in his life, nothing was ever done in moderation. A wave of realization hit him, albeit the answer it provided led to more questions rather than answers. "Are you…testing me?"

A hint of excitement could be seen in the white-haired officer's eyes, as an even larger smile invaded her expression. "Excellent deduction lieutenant, commending you for your intellect was indeed the correct choice."

"Thank you again captain, I am honestly… flattered. Yet, my question remains. How does this connect to anything?" Jaune found himself with a blend of emotions. Half of him wanted to scream in frustration at his commanding officer's almost uncharacteristic indirectness, while the other wanted to earnestly satiate his curiosities.

"Well, I suppose you have waited long enough. I have recently been directly promoted to the rank of 'Vice Admiral' under the personal recommendation of Fleet Admiral Ironwood."

"Congratulations captain, you are surely deserving of it considering your accomplishments." Jaune aptly replied.

"Thank you, Jaune." He was surprised at being referred to by name. "However, this promotion does concern you. Due to some recent circumstances, the Atlesean Navy is preparing to expand and are searching for a number of potential captains to command a new generation of air ships. In two years' time, the 65th Atlesean Air-Fleet will be created under my direct command as an admiral, a position I will apparently be given after gaining some experience as a vice admiral. It will take these two years to requisite the necessary materials to create a new fleet, alongside the training and recruitment of necessary crew and officers," she displayed a grin towards him, "and I have nominated you for a position as captain under my direct command."

He stoically stared at Winter for a moment, as his mind slowly processed the information revealed to him, before finally exploding in a fashion that put fire-dust shells to shame. "WHAT?!" He unconsciously yelled, as surprise gave way to disbelief. "I am truly honoured by your assessment captain, but w-wh-why me?"

She reciprocated his surprise with absolute tranquility. "In all the time you have served under me lieutenant, there was not one moment where you have let anything stop you. Before you joined my crew, I assessed your history in detail, and what I found simply astounded me. Every commanding officer you've ever had in the history of your career has had given you a negative initial assessment," Jaune covered his face with his hands, not in embarrassment, but rather in agreement, "many stating that you were either too clumsy, or too laid back, a few even wondering just how had you managed to last this long within the organization. Yet by the end of your time with each and every one of them, they nominated you for a promotion with glowing recommendations. Through much perseverance and most probably natural talent in the field, you were able to prove each and every one of them that they were wrong, that you were much stronger than any of them could've ever imagined. So here you are a lieutenant by the age of 25, an officer ranking rarely bestowed to anyone of your age in the history of the Atlesean navy, and yet you still act as though you are incapable of such extraordinary feats?"

"But captain, surely there are more exper-" He was silenced by an icy glare from the captain, now vice admiral.

"Lieutenant Jaune Arc, every Schnee is trained from a very young age to be an excellent appraiser of both people and opportunities. It is the reason our legacy has stood strong against the test of time, so I demand that you do not underestimate this particular aspect of my abilities." She narrowed her eyes at him, to which Jaune could only nod anxiously in reply. "So let me say this one more time Arc, I see this as an excellent opportunity for both you and I, one that I am confident you are capable of thriving in. A good leader is one whose hands their subordinates trust their lives in, a person that they can holistically trust, yet does not abuse this particular benefit. It is a person that takes into considerations every possible detail, every possible opinion in each decision, yet is able to make one of their own volition rather than on the behalf of another's agenda. A good leader sees the larger picture, and works to no end for the sake of those they are charged with. I see all of these things and more in you Arc, not once have you ever abused your superiority, and not once have you attempted to further your reputation by stepping on others, you have been nothing short of commendable under my command, lieutenant. So unless you are implying something rather rude concerning the abilities of my household name and my personal name, do you have anything else to say for yourself?"

"No, ma'am" He saluted her, awkward as it may have been as the two remained seated, it felt right to him.

She smiled at the blonde, finally satisfied with his newfound resolve, minute as it was at the moment. "Excellent, nothing is set in stone, but you are on the so called 'fast-track'. Details will be sent to you concerning your attendance of advanced officer training for the next two years, and as of today I am no longer your captain." Winter stood up and returned his salute.

"Yes capt-, I mean Vice Admiral Schnee. I will not let you down!" Jaune followed his commanding officer up, maintaining eye contact and his salute.

"See to it that you do indeed do not, Captain Arc." She emphasized the title. "We of the 65th are not fond of failure." Winter dropped the salute and extended her hand with a growing smile on her expression.

One which Jaune received wholeheartedly with a good shake.

* * *

 **Present day...**

As feelings of unexplainable nostalgia began washing away, Jaune slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a pristine, but sickeningly white room. It smelled of disinfectant, a smell that he had sordidly become very accustomed to during his early days in the Atlesean navy. Yes, Jaune Arc had awakened and somehow found himself in a medical bay, albeit one that was entirely unfamiliar to him, lest someone had done some serious redecorating to the 'Maid's' medical bay without his prior knowledge or permission. Before his musings could further themselves into chaos, they were interrupted by the opening sound of the door.

Lie Ren had entered the room with a bouquet of flowers, smirking at the bedridden blonde. "Awake already captain? I was hoping to be promoted to captain in your absence."

He frowned at his magenta-eyed companion, before bursting into laughter. "I really don't know how you do it Ren. You're so damned serious on the job, but the moment we get off of the ship, you turn into this." Jaune waved his hands in the vague shape of his friend.

Ren merely rolled his eyes at the blonde, walking up to the bed and presented the bouquet in his hand. "Here you go, courtesy of the 'Gallia' and its benefactor, 'Sustrai Enterprises'."

"Ah, I'm guessing they've fared better than us?"

"Much better."

"The 'Maid'? The crew?"

"The 'Maid' is currently undergoing repairs in the Vale National Naval Base, under the direct supervision of Fleet Admiral Ozpin of the Kingdom of Vale. The crew has been given temporary leave for the next week, as according to the proper Atlesean naval procedure following a taxing mission. Before you ask, the 'Crusade' is with us and Winchester is now 'available' according to Lieutenant Rose; and no, Nikos did not stay around long enough to let herself be arrested. You will be formally released from the hospital by tomorrow, and shortly thereafter we are meeting Ozpin and Ironwood to debrief." Ren replied promptly, pulling a chair to sit by Jaune's bedside.

The blonde's eyes widened at the mention of Fleet Admiral Ironwood, although the surprise quickly gave way to the feelings of relief for surviving their recent ordeals. "Ahahaha, what would I ever do without you?"

"You'd probably still be stuck in basic training."

"Shut it…" The duo shared another laugh, falling quickly into the trap of reminiscing about their early ventures together. Time quickly passed as they relived stories about their antics, their tribulations, times of heartbreak, and times of triumph, all things of the past, both large and small, that made them who they were today, for better or for worse. After all, one does not truly know a person unless they've seen them at their best, at their worst, and most of all, everything in between.

* * *

 **AN: Hello again ladies and gents, here's a short interlude between the last arc and the next. Hope you enjoyed a little bit of exposition and little hints at the coming days of this AU. I'd just like to address some things as usual.**

 **1\. I based Winter off of the way she acted in private with Weiss. She obviously does not act this playfully or casually in a professional situation, but I am of strong belief that she is the type to care about her subordinates and is a rather good sisterly figure, even if she doesn't show it. She may sometimes be cold, and clearly intimidating if provoked (bloody Qrow), but when push comes to shove, if you've earned it, she will have your back. I wanted to portray this in her relationship with Jaune, something of a sisterly figure/mentor when he was a lieutenant who gave him the final shove to accept his role as a leader, so I hope you liked this interpretation of Winter.**

 **2\. There are a number of hints concerning the direction of this AU, feel free to leave your predictions in the reviews, maybe they'll be close or maybe they won't, anticipation is always a fun thing. This is NOT an invite for anybody to demand their predictions to come true, I have a story in mind and unless I choose to forego it for something better, it will stay as it is for now.**

 **So once again, thank you for taking the time to read valued readers. I hope you enjoyed and are willing to stay, if you are new I welcome you heartily and am happy to have more of you join us. To say that I am surprised at the number of people who enjoy this story would be an understatement, it may be small compared to larger fics, but I enjoy seeing that some people love this world as much as I do. As usual, like, fav, or leave a review if you want to say something, anything you liked, want to see more of, or anything I can improve on, etc. Thank you again, and good day to you all.**


	6. Chapter 05: Bright and Early

**AN: This is not a very good chapter in my opinion, but I really, really wanted to get some exposition out of the way. I'm seriously thinking about getting a 'Writing Buddy' of some kind to help me out with these kinds of scenes, not exactly a Beta, but more a friend to talk ideas with. This might be one of the chapters I rewrite at the end of an Arc.  
**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Bright and Early**

* * *

" _The best of men cannot suspend their fate: The good die early and the bad die late."_

 _\- Daniel Defoe_

After signing a ludicrous amount of medical paperwork, Captain Jaune Arc was officially released from the medical bay. Albeit he was still awaiting transport within the building's lobby, so he wasn't totally free just yet. As a result, he chose to pass the time by shrugging off his feelings of lethargy with a few static stretches. Pulling on his biceps, calves, and any other muscle that remained stiff after his extended bed rest, the routine attracted no scarcity of stares from the other occupants of the hospital lobby, as a couple of wolf-whistles could be clearly heard by the blonde in question.

It had been three days since he collapsed on the 'Maid', the doctors had diagnosed it to be extreme aura exhaustion, an unfortunately common condition for whenever he overused his semblance. Nevertheless, much had transpired in his short period of mandatory vacation time. Ren had reported that the crew and ship were fine, to his relief, and that their initial escort mission was considered a success by command, albeit the bouquet of flowers sent his way were a better indicator of their success in his opinion. However, slivers of anxiety refused to leave his psyche.

He had a mission report to present in due time, and if Ren's words were to be believed, it was in person with Fleet Admiral Ironwood of Atlas and Fleet Admiral Ozpin of Vale. No matter how many times Jaune convinced himself that it was merely a routine debriefing, he remained somewhat uneasy. 'Had he done a good job? Was it right to let her escape? Was it even right to ally with pirates in the first place?' These were the type of questions that lingered within his mind, further stirring his feelings of anxiety.

As he continued to stretch, his mind then wandered towards the now familiar image of a particular redhead. He had only regained consciousness early yesterday as Ren entered the room, and although they had passed the time reminiscing about a myriad of good memories, his mind refused to divert his thoughts away from the pirate. Whether it was due to the feelings of camaraderie they had temporarily shared, or his dedication as a naval officer to bring her to justice, his emotions concerning her had kicked up a storm, and to his utter dismay, it refused to pass. He continued to ruminate for a good while, before something more immediate began to take precedence, literally.

"SUP EVERYONE! I'M LOOKING FOR ONE ATLESEAN CAPTAIN!" A voice carried throughout the entire lobby, as the door was kicked open, even if it was of the sliding variety.

He, alongside everybody else in the room, turned towards the source of all the commotion. Weary over the fact that the ridiculous entrance was technically on his behalf, the captain waved his arms at the vague direction of the source, hoping to mitigate any other forms of property damage, while identifying his eccentric seeker.

It only took a few moments before a fellow blonde began moving towards his position. She strutted over with obvious confidence in her every motion, as lilac eyes locked onto his with hints of amusement growing within them. The lady was dressed in a heavily modified Valean naval uniform, sporting a black shirt underneath a rather form-fitting collared cream top with gold trimmings, whose sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, alongside black combat cargos and boots, accentuated by the print of a gold-coloured burning heart on the side of her right boot. The uniform was also accented by a dark red utility belt wrapped tightly around her waist, exhibiting a number of pouches and standard naval equipment, such as a flashlight, a compass, and others of the sort. Although the uniform was designed with efficiency and manoeuvrability in mind, Jaune openly admitted that his fellow blonde wore it with style, emphasizing her natural beauty.

It didn't take long for her to reach him, and up close he could see the insignia on her collar, signifying her rank as an 'Ensign' within the Valean navy. She seemed to carry her position with great pride, a quality that Jaune undoubtedly appreciated within people. He extended his hand out to greet the officer, one she took it in great stride and shook quite vigorously.

"Captain Jaune Arc?" The lady eyed him with an impish smirk, one that sent shivers down his spine. If his instincts were to believed, he hoped that he would never be on the receiving end of whatever antic or plot his fellow blonde was obviously used to planning.

"At your service milady," he bowed exaggeratedly, tipping an imaginary hat.

"Hahahahaa-oh-ah, that's rich." Jaune rolled his eyes at her reaction, yet he couldn't stifle the growing itch at the back of his throat. Short thereafter, the two shared a hearty laugh, garnering the attention of the entire lobby due to the sheer volume.

She recovered soon enough though, "Aha..Ha…Alright then 'Captain Atlas', name's Yang Xiao Long, 'Ensign' of the 41st Valean Naval Division. I'll be bringing you to meet Fleet Admiral Ozpin today, direct orders from him to boot, so you better have all your accounts sorted out beforehand." Yang winked impishly at him, eliciting something between a smile and a grimace from Jaune.

As the duo walked out of the lobby and into the parking lot, the sights and sounds that assaulted Jaune were far from dull. The 'Commercial District' of this particular spire was teeming with life, as people hustled and bustled about through level after level of roads, businesses, apartment complexes, and a myriad of amenities, designed circularly around a hollow center that housed a complex system of cable cars and elevators. It was incredibly hectic, but it was nonetheless beautiful to him. Even after many years in the navy, travelling in between all four kingdoms and every 'Air Station' in-between, the inner workings and architecture of a spire continued to astound the blonde captain. The spires were a technological marvel, a feat that overshadowed every other piece of technology every created in human history.

Each kingdom had a unique set of spires, designed accordingly to their respective histories and cultures, albeit there were still some shared features between all of them. The spires were designed to theoretically reach into the heavens, designed with the possibility of vertical expansion in mind. This meant that the structural foundations of every spire were rather complex, requiring to be built deep into the planet's surface, preferably in locations of solid rock, with kilometres and kilometres of magnesium alloy beams. Every once in a while, they had to expand the 'Surface Beam' or ground floor of the spire, allowing for the weight of the spire to be distributed more equally among the various foundations and more floors to be built.

Since humanity's eviction from the surface, they had to become much more innovative in their designs, especially in relation to resource management and collection. A spire was typically separated into a number of different sectors, distinguishing their various roles within the community and the kingdom as a whole, while maximizing efficiency by grouping related industries and fields together. For example, the Atlesean spires he called home were built on the back of a mountain range, which richly contained a myriad of ores and metals, alongside ample amounts of dust. Hence, the council deigned that the bottom quarter of a number of these spires would house various mining facilities and their respective processing facilities.

All of these thoughts and ideas were a delight for Jaune, as the idea of so many facets of life working so closely in harmony is something that he wanted to dearly protect and promote. Hence, his chosen field of work, to defend all life whenever possible.

"Yo, Remnant to cap'? Are you just going to stand there, or do we have somewhere we need to be?" Yang casually tossed him a black helmet, displaying a cheeky grin, while playing around with her yellow one on a similarly themed motorbike.

"Really, Ms. Xiao Long? A motorbike of all things?" He eyed her incredulously, helmet readied on his head.

"Call me Yang, cap. BTW, insult 'Bumblebee' again," her eyes glimmered dangerously behind her helmet, "and I will toss you off the spire, capisce?"

"Duly noted." He gulped loudly, getting on the bike rather warily.

"Alright, we're going fast, so hold me like you never want to leave me. C'mon, I'm not gonna bite."

"Your earlier statement proves otherwise…" Jaune quipped, as the bike revved into motion and into traffic. He swore that he could hear maniacal laughter behind the yellow helmet every time the sound of a horn was directed towards them.

* * *

It didn't take long to reach V.N.H (Vale National Headquarters), although Jaune wondered just how many traffic laws had they broken to reach here in good time. He shuddered at the thought of a long list of fines.

The building itself was elegantly designed with a clear emphasis on utilizing natural sunlight, as it faced the outward side of the spire. It had smooth architecture that seemed to flow upwards naturally, while using an almost exorbitant amount of glass in its design; the occasional solar panel could also be seen on the sides of the building. Nevertheless, the facility was of military design, as a number of heavy AA (anti-air) guns were lined along the various balconies, alongside smaller hangers that undoubtedly housed state-of-the-art fighters, and a few larger hangers that docked ships.

As the duo entered the building, they received access passes onto their scrolls, and quickly entered a number of security checkpoints in accordance to protocol. Soon thereafter, they silently entered an elevator towards their destination.

"So cap, how's Atlas navy doing these days?" Yang asked casually, breaking the silence rather nonchalantly.

"We're doing fine, but why do you ask?" Jaune turned to face his fellow blonde beside him, raising an eye brow questioningly.

"Well, believe it or not, I used to be part of the Atlas Navy a few years back, and I still got a sister in it. So I was just curious about how's everything going, I mean has anything changed, stuff like that."

"So what happened?" He inquired curtly, his curiosity growing.

"Hmmm?" Yang tilted her head perplexedly.

"Why'd you leave Atlas? I mean we pay pretty well and all, if you don't mind me asking of course." Jaune shook his hands pacifyingly, inferring that he didn't mean to pry.

"It's actually no problem. I mean, well…" She rubbed the back of her neck, seemingly unsure of how to continue. "I kind of got kicked out…"

Jaune's eyes went wide with surprise, his mind unsure on how to respond. So he went with a classic, "Huh?" He internally slapped himself for his current social ineptitude, begrudgingly swearing that he needed to take a few pointers from Admiral Schnee the next time they met.

"Yeah…I punched out my commanding officer, and boy did that not go well. But in my defense, she was kind of a jerk at the time. We had found some smugglers in-between Atlas and Vacuo, she ordered to shoot them down rather than capturing them, 'nipping them in the bud' she said, and a lot of other crock. In actuality, she probably just wanted an easy accomplishment added to her record. I argued against her, asking her to investigate beforehand, she overruled me, and next thing I knew I had decked her. The smugglers were arrested shortly after, and you know what, we made the better choice. Their ship was carrying slaves, men, women, children, all kinds, and we saved them all with no casualties on either side. And I really don't give a damn about whether command says it's a success or not, but to me it was well worth it." She looked to him with determination flaring within her eyes, challenging him to prove her actions wrong. It brought a smile out of Jaune, reminding him again that there were others who valued life as much as he did.

"I tend to be on your side of the story Xiao Long, you seem like good people. Whoever your sister is, she must be proud to have someone like you." He was definitely more appreciative of his blonde compatriot now, as integrity and passion were definitely traits worthy of respect in his book.

"Damn right, I'm good people." She let out a quick sigh. "But honestly, I truly believe that my sister deserves more credit than I do." She spoke reflectively.

"Does she?" The tints of surprise were very apparent within his voice.

"Mhmmm, I think you'd like her cap'. After all, I've heard stories about you and your crew," a tint of pink invaded Jaune's cheeks, a fact that was quite amusing for the blonde brawler, "you're rather famous here in Vale. You've got a quite a number of joint ops underneath your belt, and whoever's been working with you always comes out a little more hopeful in humanity. I could probably keep going about your numerous exploits, rescuing hostages from pirates, escorting supplies, securing trade routes, most captains wouldn't even bother with going on these missions unless asked, too boring or too complicated they say, let alone a hotshot such as yourself." He was well aware that she was teasing him considering her tone, but the shades of pink on his cheeks refused to leave his. "She thinks like you, her main goal being to serve and protect, while somehow bringing out the best of the people around her. I'd introduce you, but Oum knows where she is right now, probably off saving the world or something."

Interrupting their conversation, the elevator had let out a clear chime, signalling its arrival at their final destination, the top floor of the V.N.H and its meeting hall. As the door opened, they were immediately beholden to an odd sight. A woman with black and red hair sat rather awkwardly on one of the chairs, spinning it around with her legs. She was dressed in the standard Atlas naval uniform, a grey vest jacket over a white long-sleeved shirt, and finished off with a grey combat skirt. The only exception to the colour scheme was the bright red, hooded cloak that she comfortably wore over her shoulders.

"Uhhh, Ruby?" Jaune's fellow blonde was the first to break the silence, alerting the woman in question of their presence.

"Sis?" She stopped the chair immediately, her silver eyes growing wide with surprise.

"Lieutenant Commander Rose, correct?" Jaune interjected quickly, attempting to dispel the awkward atmosphere.

He could scarcely believe that the officer's eyes could get any wider, as she finally consciously registered his presence. "C-captain Arc!" She promptly stood at attention, saluting him in the process.

"At ease lieutenant, I'm here for the debriefing. But the question remains, why are you here? Where's your captain?"

"Well…" Ruby laughed nervously at the two blondes.

* * *

Ozpin witnessed a rather odd sight as he entered the room with his rather mechanical colleague. To his utter amusement, he had found a blonde officer rolling on the floor in a fit of giggles, while another stood close by with her face coloured in such a way that it put her red cloak to shame. However, in between the two was another blonde, the man of the hour for his future agenda.

"Good morning everyone, I see that you are all in good spirits." He spoke with mirth in his voice, garnering the attention of the trio.

Ironwood merely rolled his eyes at their antics, clearing his throat to curtly reprimand his subordinates. "Captain Arc, Lieutenant Commander Rose, I understand that you must be tired from your previous mission, but this is nonetheless a formal debrief. So I expect you treat it as such. Even you Xiao Long, you may not be under my command, but your commanding officer is also very much present."

"SIR!" The reply was immediate, alongside the salutes, as years of training and practiced discipline began rearing its effects.

Ozpin chuckled at the sight, "At ease, all of you. We have much to discuss, but I believe James here has something to say beforehand."

The Atlesean admiral sighed loudly. "Lieutenant Commander Rose, Captain Winchester has delivered a formal complaint against you concerning your insubordination, and the verdict has been ruled in his favour by the Council."

The Valean admiral turned to face the officer, seeing only determination within her silver eyes. To his surprise, Yang had indeed held her tongue, albeit the vicious biting of her lower lip did not discredit her fiery reputation. She was ready to burst, but held strong, for now. _'Perhaps her previous experiences have taught her a lesson in self-control.'_ Ozpin thought amusedly at the events unfolding before him.

Nevertheless, it was the other blonde that spoke out first to his growing surprise. "But sir, she performed admirably considering the situation. She was instrumental in not only saving my crew, but also wounding a legendary-class Grimm, preventing it from running rampant in a well-known trade route after it awakened." They all turned to find steeled eyes of ocean-blue staring back at them.

"Captain Arc, Rose's actions are an obvious case of insubordination. I cannot support her actions, just as much as I cannot overlook her success. I agree that she has performed admirably, but she has blatantly acted against her commanding officer, we have procedures and chains of command for a reason. Not only did she totally disregard his orders, but she has also endangered her entire crew by putting herself in command with no experience, dragging all of them into what may possibly be the direst circumstance of the past decade. Yes, she has saved lives, the lives of you and your crew to be precise, but the situation could have developed in a myriad of directions, many of which would have resulted in all of your deaths. Objectively speaking, Winchester's decision of retreating for reinforcements may be seen as callous to all of you, but it would have been the most logical path to follow. You were all ill-prepared to face a threat of such a level, and there was scarcely anything you could've done about it, at least theoretically. Yes, he may have failed to act in urgency to reach your ship. Yes, he should have chosen to calm Rose down instead of aggravating her, but he nonetheless acted with the safety of his crew and the general populace in mind. You, of all people, should understand that, Arc. " The Atlesean admiral narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

"James, enough! Tell them or I will." Ozpin tapped his cane on the floor, reminding his colleague of more important matters.

The man looked at him before nodding in acceptance. "Under these current circumstances, after some careful debating and consideration of your long list of achievements, it is to my utter disappointment to state that you, Lieutenant Commander Rose, have been honourably discharged from the Atlesean Naval Forces. The details of this discharge will be sent to your scroll, and we wish you luck in all your future endeavours." Ironwood took one final look at the trio, before finding a seat along the meeting table with a knowing smirk.

"Now that all of that is done and over with, tell me Ms. Rose, how'd you like to officially take command of a ship?" Ozpin spoke nonchalantly.

To his complete amusement, the trio's jaws had dropped to the floor.

* * *

 **AN: Hello again ladies and gents. Just some things I'd like to say:**

 **1\. Ruby is not aware of how Yang got kicked out of the Atlesean navy, all she knows is that she was honorably discharged. I will confirm that Ozpin did also recruit her, but why or how will be revealed later. Ozpin might as well add 'record of insubordination' to a required characteristic of his naval officers.**

 **2\. Jaune is not always confident, he's still a relatively new captain. He has experience in the field and as a fighter, but nothing can truly prepare you for the experience of holding hundreds of lives within your hands. Doubt is common, he's not being weak or angsty, just unsure if he performed optimally in a situation that he has never encountered.**

 **3\. Ruby's transfer was planned, Ironwood smirked. Always watch the smirk.**

 **4\. Spires are designed accordingly to their cultures and available resource. Atlas will seem smooth and clean, obviously designed with efficiency and clarity in mind, think Citadel of Mass Effect 3. Vale is designed with a more aesthetic nuance, its beautiful in a modern way, think New York/Shanghai/Vancouver, something of the 3.**

 **I'm back in school, coding with C is always fun, so updates will be all over the place. Thanks again for reading, as usual if you have anything to say leave a review, and if you enjoyed, consider following or giving a favorite. Good day to all you!**


	7. Chapter 06: Hausmarchen

**AN: Hello again ladies and gents, here's a new chapter to my little story. I honestly did not predict that it would take me another week to publish it, and I'll be apologizing for that for a number of reasons.**

 **1\. This was supposed to be bundled with the last chapter, leading to one giant exposition fiesta. However, I've decided against it considering just how boring that might have gotten.**

 **2\. Considering the fact that I had a week, there are parts that I wish I had the skill and knowledge to present better, but I hope that it presents the necessary ideas well enough for you to enjoy. Anything else will be clarified in the AN at the bottom, or if you ask me in a PM.**

 **Besides that, I'd like to thank all of you again for continuing to read and support my story. We're reaching close to a 100 followers, which may not seem like a big deal to most people, but I'm rather excited about it. In addition, I'd like to thank two others in particular, 'nate' who pointed me towards the Dido-class cruisers, which solidified the image of Ruby's ship design, and 'SoulfulBard' who alongside being the great author of "Arc Reaction" (a very enjoyable AU where Pyrrha and Jaune essentially become Ironman and War machine) and regular reviewer, has volunteered to let me bounce some ideas off of them, which will be immensely helpful considering the development of this story. So kudos to both of you.**

 **Once again, enjoy the chapter ladies and gents (Note: I still use Canadian spelling).**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Hausmärchen**

* * *

" _After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world."_

 _\- Philip Pullman_

"You…want me… to COMMAND A SHIP?" Ruby Rose could scarcely believe her ears. In all her years of training and service within the Atlesean fleet, in no book, manual, or testimony, would they find that decking a commanding officer would lead to a promotion, even if she had to discharged beforehand to receive it.

"Indeed I do, Ms. Rose. Nonetheless, the details can be discussed at a later date, or at least, if you choose to accept?" Ozpin spoke rather amusedly, taking a sip out of his cup.

"Of course, I'd take it, fleet admiral Ozpin!" She quickly saluted her new commanding officer, internally thanking Oum for the man in front of her.

"AWW YEAH! My sister's going to be a captain, I'm so proud of you, Ruby!" A voice broke out beside her, as strong arms squeezed around her body. Ruby had found herself within the arms of her older sister, one Yang Xiao Long.

"YANG," she sputtered out desperately, attempting to wiggle out of the blonde's embrace, "WE'RE IN A DEBRIEF!"

"Whoops, sorry, sorry. I'll save it for later." Yang spoke, as she finally let go. The blonde quickly straightened out her clothes alongside Ruby's, before returning to her seat.

The smirk on Ozpin's face grew even larger at the odd display of sibling affection, and it only continued to grow as he spotted at the corner of his eyes, Ironwood's face covered by his hands as the man slowly shook his head in exasperation.

"There will be much to discuss your transfer to the Valean forces, but we have a more pressing matter to attend to. Fleet Admiral Ironwood and I have read your reports about the Leviathan. Although, it is somewhat disappointing that the pirate, Ms. Nikos, has evaded your grasp, we are much more excited about your confrontation with the Leviathan. So let me ask, how did it enter your vicinity?" Ozpin tapped his cane on the floor once again to regain their attention.

"I can answer that, sir." Jaune replied curtly. "We were locked in battle with the pirate, but over the horizon a roar erupted from a direction shrouded by a thick formation of clouds. Its volume displayed such strength that the battle was immediately halted when it resounded, and shortly thereafter it emerged from the clouds itself."

"I see…" Ozpin rubbed the bottom of his chin reflectively. "I assume you are all aware of the Leviathan's life cycle?"

Various degrees of nodding were the reply to his inquiry, and so he continued, "Then this has just confirmed our suspicions. Before you ask, Fleet Admiral Ironwood and I have deduced that there is an unmapped landmass of some kind hosting the Leviathan."

The Valean fleet admiral turned to his console and displayed a map on the large screen behind him. "As you can see here, the area of your confrontation is in the middle of the ocean. At best, there is only a single Grimm, a Leviathan, occupying the island due to their vicious territorial nature, and at worst, a few large species who begrudgingly share the territory. The presence of a Leviathan is a boon in itself, because its presence is a clear indicator of the presence of dust due to its rather odd diet, providing us with an opportunity to not only gain a sizeable dust mine on the surface, but to also retake the island as a whole for colonisation." Gasps of shock could be heard from the trio of officers before him. It was no surprise that they were surprised to say the least. After all, very few of their generation had the opportunity to see the surface on a regular basis, while even fewer had ever walked on it.

"So this brings me to the crux of the issue, Vale alongside Atlas have agreed upon a joint mission to scout the island, and we wish for you two to lead it, Captain Arc will be Atlas' representative, and Captain Rose will be his counterpart, so will you accept?" Ozpin inquired calmly, yet seemingly already well aware of the answer he was going to receive if his intuition was to be believed.

"YES SIR!" Blonde and brunette replied synonymously, coaxing another smirk out him.

"Excellent." Ozpin once again turned towards his console and typed in another set of commands.

Ruby continued to watch the silver-haired man in front of her, seemingly beguiled with the rather enigmatic impression that he exuded in spades. However, her gaze was quickly taken by the sea of faces and names suddenly displaced on the screen behind the man.

"Behind me, Ms. Rose, will be the crew soon to be in your care, alongside additional associates from Atlas. For your first mission, I will be assigning you a number of officers that will be rather imperative for the joint mission." Ozpin tapped in a few more commands, and the screen moved in to focus onto a single portrait of an amber-eyed ravenette.

"This is Ensign Belladonna; she'll be assessing your performance during this mission, alongside her role as a supporting officer. She is incredibly experienced in the field, while also being a skilled hunter-class combatant." Once again the screen shifted its display, choosing to focus upon another individual.

"This as you might already know is Ensign Xiao Long; she'll be acting as your mediator with the rest of the crew. She is well-respected and liked by the rest of your assigned crew, allowing for a smoother transition into your role. Xiao Long is also Blake's hunting partner, so she'll also be acting in tandem with her partner in the task of assessing your abilities.

These two will act as your immediate support; I would have also assigned you a commander or a lieutenant commander, but we've unfortunately been rather busy these days. However, Admiral Goodwitch will also be in your immediate vicinity with her carrier and will be in position to assist you if need be.

On the Atlas side, they will be sending Captain Arc here, alongside a Hyas-class Destroyer. It will be fitted to carry the additional equipment necessary to fully map and survey the island, alongside an emergency stock of supplies. Some noteworthy individuals on this ship will be particularly vital to the success of your mission." The screen shifted to display the portraits of three individuals on screen. "The first on the left is Captain Ciel Soleil; her ship will be carrying the additional equipment for our cartography session. Next to her portrait is Chief Warrant Officer 1st class Penny Polendina, she will be your resident cartographer and biologist. Then we have Lieutenant Weiss Schnee, who is an experienced dust specialist, and will probably be instrumental in the assessment of the dust present on the island.

The names of the remaining crew involved, both Vale side and Atlas side, will be sent to your scrolls by the end of the day, alongside an overview of their respective history within the naval forces. I recommend that you both take a look, Captain Arc, Captain Rose. We'll also be sending out a mission briefing to all those involved, both Atlesean and Valean, by the end of the day. A formal briefing in person will be held closer to the start date in a week's time, but until then I implore you to enjoy Vale." The Valean fleet admiral displayed a smile to the officers in question, as he stood up with his cane. "Do you have anything else to say James?"

The Atlesean admiral merely shook his head at the inquiry, before standing up himself.

"Very well then, you are all dismissed." With a tap of his cane, the trio in front of him stood at attention and saluted.

"Rose, would you like to see your ship?" To his utter amusement, the woman in question could barely stave off her excitement at his suggestion.

* * *

Ruby alone had remained with the silver-haired fleet admiral beside her at, as the duo steadily approached the growing size of an airship hangar. After leaving the meeting hall, Jaune had been taken by Ironwood to the blonde's dismay, while Yang had left to begin preparing for the mission by finding her partner, leaving Ruby right where she was, alone with her new commanding officer.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the doors of the hangar itself, and like an excited child, she rushed into the building to see whatever secrets it held within. The place was spacious and well-lit, as row upon row of lights hung above them, all seemingly for the sake of presenting a single ship at its centre.

"This, Ms. Rose, is the 'Hausmärchen'. Magnificent is it not?" Ozpin's voice echoed loudly throughout the large hangar, yet his words were barely registered by the young officer in question.

Ruby Rose was enamoured by the airship in front of her, its beauty much greater than the schematics presented to her in the meeting hall. The 'Hausmärchen' was a Glenn-class cruiser, a lighter and smaller, but much more versatile relative of the Alpha-class Battlecruisers, such as the 'Crusade'. It was armed to the teeth with a wide variety of medium-calibre armaments, sporting 10 (133mm) dust cannons spread throughout its deck, alongside two rapid-firing (40 mm) 'autocannons' on its upper deck, all specifically designed to tear large flocks of smaller aerial Grimm to shreds in a matter of seconds. However, the ship was far from helpless when dealing with pirates or other ships of the unsavoury kind, as it was also fitted with two (533 mm) launch tubes for a wide variety of homing dust torpedoes.

The ship was 156 m long and 15.4 m wide, with a usual crew of 480 crewmen, standard for a 'light cruiser'. Yet, if Ozpin was to be believed, the system configuration of employing three primary dust engines and four secondary ones would be a first for a ship of its size. The set-up was usually used for larger vessels as a necessity to even move, but on a smaller ship, it allowed the 'Hausmärchen' to reach remarkable speeds. The Valean vessel utilized a combination of red and white for its color-scheme, decorated with an occasional spiral pattern on its hull, much unlike the clean grey and white motif of most Atlesean vessels. It left a rather regal impression to all who were beholden to it, evoking equal amounts of fear and hope in both enemy, and ally.

She could scarcely believe it, as before her laid a ship after her own heart, and best of all, it was hers to command, legally. Since leaving the meeting hall, she had pinched herself multiple times to ensure that she was indeed awake. After all, who would've ever thought that an act of insubordination would lead to her rather befuddling promotion?

"Wow…" The words had left her mouth unconsciously, resulting in a smile from the Valean fleet admiral beside her.

"'Wow' indeed, Ms. Rose. Come, we still have much to discuss." With great difficulty, Ruby tore her eyes away from the ship, and followed her commanding officer deeper into the hangar.

* * *

"How are you finding Vale, Captain Arc?" The voice of his commanding officer rung beside him, as the two Atlesean officers privately perused the V.N.H after leaving the meeting hall.

"It's incredibly peaceful, sir." Jaune replied curtly, catching the gaze of the man beside him.

"I agree." Ironwood paused for a moment, both in speech and in motion. The two men had now found themselves on a large balcony overlooking the upper floors of the spire below them. It was breathtaking, seeing the multitude of vehicles and people moving robustly at a distance, all interlocked in a beautiful cascade of city lights. The location was an excellent view of the world they worked to protect, the lives, the dreams, and the futures, a goal that the two Atleseans had silently shared over the years.

"Sir, why are we here?" Jaune inquired flatly, locking eyes with the man in front of him.

"Because there are greater plans at work, captain," Ironwood replied promptly, releasing a small exasperated sigh. The admiral though regained his composure quickly, and continued speaking, "And I believe that it's time we've made you aware. Let me ask you this, why was the 65th fleet created?"

Jaune stared at the man absently, his mind attempting to process the seemingly random question. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me captain, why was the 65th created?" The question was calmly asked again.

"I'm sorry, but I've never been formally informed. I've only been told that it was built with the intention of testing a new gen-" His tongue had stopped dead in his mouth, as ideas slowly began organizing themselves within the blonde's mind. "We're testing a new generation of airships, alongside an experimental line of unique weaponry…"

Ironwood gave the blonde a brief node, urging him to continue.

"What in Oum's name are we preparing for, fleet admiral? Upgrades and improvements have always been a regular commodity of the Atlesean fleets, but we've never reached something of this level or magnitude, except during the time Atlas first conceived the Spire-" Jaune's mouth stopped dead for a moment. "We're expanding, aren't we?" He could scarcely believe the conclusion he'd stumbled upon, let alone the fact that he was part of it.

The fleet admiral displayed a subtle smile on his expression, before taking out a scroll in his right hand. "Not quite, but an acceptable answer nonetheless. Winter had indeed been correct in her assessment of your character, Arc. The 65th's innate nature was initially explorative. A unique fleet of smaller, but incredibly nimble airships tasked with scouting the surface for potential sites for new spires. However, the plan was scrapped by the council almost a decade ago due to the growing exponential increase of Grimm populations on the surface throughout all of Remnant. It was as if the surface itself had turned black in color, and the sight was disparaging to say the least. So, we were forced to repurpose the fleet into an assault team of sorts, armed with the most advanced technological marvels Atlas could offer and manned by the best we could find within our own ranks, all assessed personally by a trusted commanding officer and a few high-councilmen.

But, five years ago we noticed that the trend of Grimm population growth had essentially reversed, resulting in a slow, but steady decrease of Grimm on the surface. This potential respite brought the council into frenzy, bringing us to where we are today. This may be the only opportunity we'll ever receive to finally secure a steady line of new resources."

"But why keep it a secret then, isn't this something to celebrate, something to bring the four kingdoms together like nothing before?" The two locked eyes once again for a moment on the balcony, as silence hung between them. Jaune was tempted to speak again, but the fleet admiral silenced him with a small sigh.

"Because Captain Arc, there is nothing worse in this world than false hope, and if we are to survive, we cannot become careless. Hope is what uplifts us and propels us throughout this life, but it is also the ultimate source of disappointment. The more we hope, the further we fall." Ironwood released another exasperated sigh, not particularly aimed at the blonde or at any one person, but rather at circumstance itself. "You are still young, captain. I do not expect you to notice every minute detail about people, but take this from personal experience, the further you fall, the less you are willing to get up. Hope is wonderful, but it can be deadly if approached without caution. At this point, we are unsure of what is causing the decrease in Grimm, alongside the fact that we have very few theories on why the population swelled in the first place, and until we have a definite answer, we cannot allow the populace to place their hopes in a future that deserves no merit.

The fact of the matter is that we unfortunately do not live within a fairy tale, humanity is running out of time and our situation is much direr that most believe it to be. The kingdoms are running out of easily reached resources. In half a century, a century at most if we are prudent, everything will have run dry, dust, ore, anything we cannot grow or farm on any spire. At that point it'll be far too late to do anything, we'll be so stricken with destitute and desperation that we will turn on each other for whatever scraps we'll have left. Then, the end humanity will not be the Grimm, but rather our personal desire to survive. It will be total anarchy, Jaune."

The haunted look on his commanding officer's expression pushed Jaune to believe him without question. Even without it, the argument he presented was realistic and to his utter dismay, incredibly probable. The differences between the wealthy and the poor spires of Remnant were as vast as night and day, he had witnessed as much during his travels. Many spires were typically industrial complexes, decorated with small living quarters, and an almost toxic amount of pollution due to marginally less efficient ventilation systems. They were desperate attempts of expansion by the various councils, utilizing nearby plots of land in hopes of finding new veins of ore, or more importantly, dust. All of them built within the sight of the capital spire, and in turn, the immediate protection of the each kingdom's respective fleets. Yet to his complete chagrin, too many of them befitted the title 'slum' more than anything else.

Atlas was rather privileged in that respect with their initial placement, considering the seemingly infinite mine of dust and ore underneath them. Vale on the other hand was situated in a temperate landscape, allowing for the healthy growth of plant life to surround their spires. These forests provided an abundance of food, alongside various natural resources that were renewable, allowing Vale to grow into an agricultural powerhouse of Remnant. Hence, Atlas' close relation with them; even with an ample amount of greenhouses, the wintery landscape of the tundra was not kind to Atlas' food industry.

Vacuo, and to a lesser extent, Mistsral, were not so lucky. The dry desert and seemingly bipolar temperatures of its night-and-day cycle caused a myriad of problems for Vacuo, as water shortages were a rather common occurrence, and in turn periods of drought and famine. While, rich in some ores and a number of precious jewels, there were few resources that bolstered their survivability when isolated from the other kingdoms' spires. On the other hand, Mistral was a boon to Remnant in terms of luxury goods, sporting the perfect conditions and necessary equipment for the manufacturing of a variety of products, such as wine, perfume extracts, incense, and others of the sort. They were also the only kingdom whose spires were situated in the close proximity of a large inland sea, alongside the outer oceans, allowing them the unique privilege of seafood. Mistral was a trade center for the four kingdoms, their merchant fleets the crown jewels of the 'Merchants' guild' and their prosperity almost unmatched. Yet, the moment resources begin to run dry, Mistral's economic dependence on international trade would falter the kingdom, perhaps even collapse it in its entirety, as the various kingdoms begin to hoard whatever scraps that remain.

"So what now?" Jaune's voice was barely above a whisper, as the severity and full weight of the situation had finally dawned upon the blonde. Their mission would not only bring hope to the people of Atlas and Vale, but to the entirety of Remnant. A piece of the surface, annexed from the Grimm, it would be a beacon of hope to all of Remnant. It wasn't only a necessity to their survival, but an opportunity to secure something much greater.

Ironwood walked up and placed a strong hand on the blonde's shoulder, and the two locked eyes once again. "You complete the mission, and make Atlas proud, captain." The man's reply was astute, filled with iron-clad determination and hope. Yet, his tone shifted slightly thereafter, "But remember Arc, you report to me and not Ozpin." Ironwood narrowed his eyes slightly. "Vale is our loyal ally in this cause, but do not trust Ozpin's word at face value. The man is shrewd and incredibly wise, but he has a tendency to scheme, for better or for worse…"

Jaune merely nodded at his commanding officer, scheduling the warning to be contemplated for another day. But today, he had a mission briefing to discuss.

Yet, unbeknownst to the two Atleseans, over yonder a pair of heterochromic eyes had been watching them with silent glee for quite some time.

* * *

 _ **Within the depths of an undisclosed Mistrali Spire...**_

The club, 'The Black Bear', was shrouded in a mist of cigar smoke and incense, its black and white motif seemingly enriching the thick clouds of smoke as Pyrrha entered with a small grimace. Beside her was her loyal first mate, Scarlet David, alongside a tall, dark-skinned male. The dark-skinned male was dressed in a white asymmetrical long coat that exposed his well-built chest and black pants, all accented by a golden shoulder piece protecting his right shoulder.

The further she walked into the establishment, the stronger the unique odour of alcohol and drugs seemed to assault her sense of smell from the den of scum and villainy. People of all kinds lounged relaxingly throughout the place, partaking in various forms of debauchery and delinquency, and although she was technically a prominent member of the more villainous kind, she usually opted for more 'conservative' forms of recreation during her free time.

The trio quickly reached the bar of the establishment, stocked from floor to roof with an almost unbelievable selection of alcohol, ranging from those cheaper than water to those that would be synonymous to an entire crate of weapons cost-wise. Manning the bar at the moment was a raven-haired gentleman with a trimmed beard and short hair. He was dressed neatly in a white dress shirt with a solid red tie, contrasted with a black vest on top. Nevertheless, contrary to his clean clothes and seemingly cool demeanour, the man was much more formidable foe than most. After all, information was power in their world.

"Hei Xiong." Pyrrha took a seat on the stool directly across him, watching him continue fiddling with the whiskey glass in his hands.

"Nikos." The man replied curtly. To most he was simply the owner of this particular establishment, alongside its resident bartender and alcohol collector, but to others he was 'Junior', their eyes and ears to the hidden reaches of the world.

Silence hung between the two for a while, as neither was willing to be the first to show their hands. In this business, shows of docility or submission were a quick path to becoming somebody else's lackey. So they continued their battle of silence for some time longer, before the man behind the bar solemnly let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm assuming you're here because of my message…" Junior spoke, foregoing the glass in his hands.

"Mhmm…" Pyrrha nodded at the man, sceptical about message in question. The message she received was a proposition, one she was very hesitant in taking. "This is a risk Xiong, the kingdoms know."

"Are you kidding me? How is that going to change anything? The rumours have already spread everywhere about you and that Leviathan, every man, woman, and child are well aware that there's something in that area, but we have a chance to get to it before anybody else does. Do you know just how much that information would be worth? How much a complete map of a secluded island is worth to some snob of a Mistralian senator or even some self-proclaimed nobleman from Vacuo? Millions of lien, millions of lien right in front of us. Hell, I'll even give you a 60-40 split of the profits in your favour. I'll even sweeten the deal, I've already hired the cartographers and they're ready to go, free of charge." Junior was throwing his hands up in the air, but kept his voice scarcely above a whisper lest anybody was intruding upon their discussion.

"You've hired what?!" Pyrrha stood up and snarled at the man, shock obvious in her voice.

"Cartographers…" Junior immediately raised his hands pacifyingly, only now realizing just how presumptuous his actions may have been.

"Dammit Junior, you will owe me for this." The pirate returned to her seat, pushing away her feelings of annoyance for another time.

The man scoffed, "Sure, what'd you want this time, another shipping of food and goods to that orphanage of yo-"

Before Junior could finish his sentence, a large hand was suddenly found to be tightly gripping the front of his collar from across the counter. The grip was solid, preventing him from breaking away from behind the bar, and slowly it became more difficult to breathe for the bartender in question.

"Sage, stop." Pyrrha's voice pierced sharply through the duo's encounter.

"Bu-" The dark skinned man attempted to argue, but the glare he received from the red-headed captain immediately annihilated his will to do so.

"Now," Pyrrha spoke again, adding to the level of scorn within her voice until he dropped the man, "good." She coolly rounded the corner, walking towards the slumped form of a man on the floor before her. She kneeled and slowly levelled with him, drilling her emerald eyes into his gray. "Listen here Xiong, and listen well. I am doing you a favour, not the other way around. So if I hear you ever disrespect the roots of another one of my men, then the deal and every other deal to come is off, understood?" Junior merely nodded in compliance as she steadily hoisted herself up, her gaze never leaving him.

"They're supposed to be here soon." Junior had hesitantly stood back up underneath her glare, while slowly straightening out his ruffled garments in the meantime. "Speak of the devil, here they come."

The trio turned around in accordance to the man's words. Before them stood another duo of men, a blonde monkey Faunus who sported a tail in broad daylight, alongside a human with almost ridiculously bright blue hair. The two were of similar height and build, both being just standing above 1.8 metres tall, while sporting well-built forms, something rather atypical for cartographers.

"Sup?" The blonde Faunus was the first to speak, exhibiting a rather friendly persona.

"Well, hello beautiful. Junior, if I'd known I was working with someone as beautiful as her, I wouldn't have charged you." The blue-haired male spoke up next, albeit she half-wished he really hadn't.

"I'll keep that in mind…" Junior retorted flatly behind the bar.

"Say, how about you and I get a drink after this? I'll be sure to make it worth your while." Pyrrha merely rolled her eyes at the man and his attempts at courting her. She'd seen much better over the years, so the quality presented before her at the moment just seemed so sleazy that it was undoubtedly laughable. In fact, she did laugh, silently beneath her flat expression.

"Hey cap', can I punch him? I really want to punch this guy." Sage spoke sternly, visibly clenching his fist.

"I concur, Ayana." Scarlet strutted to stand beside Sage, his hands hovering ready over the hilt of his blade.

"Wait," they all turned to face the red-headed captain, interestedly awaiting her words, "Names?"

"Sun Wukong." The Faunus replied curtly.

"Neptune Vasilias." The other spoke shortly thereafter, somewhat hesitantly now after hearing some rather disconcerting statements regarding his well-being.

"Can I trust you to do your jobs well?" They merely nodded in response, a response which elicited a small smile from her. "Good, we leave in a week, find us at Dock 13 before noon, or we're leaving without you." She turned around and returned to her stool at the bar. "Oh, before I forget, Sage, Scarlet," the two in question looked to her once again, "don't damage the place too badly."

The duo in question smiled menacingly and moved forward in tandem. Sun merely sidestepped away from his partner, nonchalantly taking out his scroll and opening the camera function.

Soon thereafter, girly screams could be heard floors away from the club for the next hour or so.

* * *

 **AN: Well, it's that time of the story again, EXPOSITION. So much has happened in this story, so many characters. I feel that I may have overloaded a bit, but I want to push the plot along at a relatively fast pace, because of two reasons:  
**

 **1\. This is is an adventure, so we need to actually get to it. The journey is always more interesting than the end, but not if it drags along too long. I am a firm believer of this, and I've taken my best steps to move it along as quick as possible while still being thorough with the setting (doesn't mean I'm the best at it though, so please leave reviews about it, allowing me to improve future chapters or rewrite past ones to increase their quality).**

 **2\. This is also an Arkos romance, it's unimaginably slow at the moment, but it will come as long as I want to get it to it! (Please be patient all of you, we will get more Pyrrha soon).**

 **In addition, there are a lot of plot lines and themes I want to cover over the span of this fic, including Pyrrha's backstory, the island, countering the Grimm, the differences between Ozpin and Ironwood in their quest to preserve humanity, the blurred lines between actions bred out of actual necessity and those out of desperation, so on and so forth (Soulful, if you see this, these are the topics I will probably come to you with at times, thanks again). I placed a number of foundations this chapter, here are some the most obvious:**

 **1\. Sage Ayana, another character we know absolutely nothing about, so same deal with Scarlet. Hope you like him, he'll actually play a part in Pyrrha's backstory (even if the hint was a little hand-over-fist).  
**

 **2\. Neo has been hinted... *ominous music***

 **3\. '** **Hausmärchen' is roughly translated from German as household tales or folk tales, I thought it was a rather fitting name for a ship run by a group of characters based of off famous fairy tale characters. It was also the title of the chapter because it alludes to number of turning points within the timeline and the associated stories that will be created because of them (plus it sounds cool).  
**

 **Well that's it for now I suppose, as usual, if you have anything to say please leave a review. If you didn't like it, tell me and I'll try to improve upon it, if you did like, consider giving a review, follow, or fav. I thank all my readers once again, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Good day to you all ladies and gents.**

 **P.S. ffnet has gone crazy with the reviews again. I'm constantly missing a few and it's aggravating me to no end, they've even lost email alerts before to my dismay.**


	8. Chapter 07: Big Blind

**AN: I will apologize for taking so long to update, it's been a crazy ride for me and my old bones. I will however not apologize that this has become another exposition chapter, I had to introduce the crew and team in some fashion, and if I didn't do it now, then I wouldn't make any sense in the timeline and pacing of this story. So hope you enjoy this chapter ladies and gents', hope your beloved characters were done justice. ~ (I still use British/UK spelling)  
**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Big Blind**

* * *

" _If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time."_

 _\- A Chinese Proverb_

"Captain, we're approaching the AO (area of operation)." An officer idly called out from the bridge of the 'Maid'.

"Very well, continue scanning the area for any signs of land…" Jaune replied absentmindedly, continuing to stare at the map presented on his holoscreen.

A week had come and gone in the blink of an eye for Jaune, a period of time that had seemingly been swindled from him and his nerves. After the revelations presented to him by none other than the man who stood as the apex of his chain of command, the blonde captain's mindscape remained disordered at best, and at worst, downright anarchic.

The true weight of their potential actions weighed heavily in his mind, carrying a strong torch of hope for securing a future for humanity. Yet the brighter the light they carried, the larger its shadow becomes. The various findings of their mission will probably bring about a myriad of changes to the world of Remnant. It was a gamble that could backfire horribly, whether they succeeded or failed, one was just slightly better than the other.

If they succeed in taking the island and cleansing of it of Grimm, what happens then? Will they release this information to the public? Which kingdom does the island belong to? Vale, Atlas, Vacuo, Mistral, or will it shared amongst the four? Or will it be established as an independent state? Who owns the rights to the dust we find? What about the land, how will it be divided? Who will colonize it, the rich or the poor, civilians or combatants? All of them questions that continuously plagued the young captain's mind.

Jaune by no means believed himself to be qualified to be sound judge of the situation. After all, he could scarcely comprehend the possible political and socioeconomic ramifications of this discovery, but even then, he understood enough to tread carefully or risk dealing with the fallout directly. So he had kept his mouth shut and basked in his solitary musings.

But before he could delve deeper into his mindscape at this time, his musings were cut short by an incoming call on the bridge, an occurrence that had been far too common in the last few weeks for his taste. With a few button presses on his console, a video feed was opened for the entire bridge, revealing a tanned, stern-looking Atlesean captain.

"Captain Soleil." Jaune greeted the woman, immediately noting the signature blue beret adorning her head.

"Captain Arc," Ciel returned his greeting promptly before continuing to speak, "We've detected a large mass of land 45 degrees north of west from our current flight trajectory, approximately 300 clicks from our current position. "

His eyes went wide for a moment, surprised at how quickly they found the island. "That's great news. I'm assuming the additional sensors of the 'Sol Invictus' are fully operational then?"

The only reply Jaune received was a subtle nod from his fellow captain and Atlesean, causing him to inwardly sigh. Ciel had always been a difficult person for him to interact with. Even during their days together as officers-in-training, the woman's temperament had always been as stoic and somewhat rigid as ever, traits which were strongly evident in everything she did, for better or for worse to his dismay. She was an accomplished leader and steadfast ally, but sometimes difficult to work with due to her lack of communication and iron-clad reverence of standard protocol.

"We'll adjust our trajectory as stated, please continue to run the scanners and keep us posted if they find anything new. Anything else, Captain Soleil?" The Atlesean captain merely shook her head this time, and once again saluted him before promptly ending the transmission feed.

He once again sighed inwardly, before typing in another command into his console to contact his more exuberant compatriot. "You got all of that, Rose?"

"Loud and clear, boss!" A voice reverberated clearly in his earpiece, one that was clearly attempting to stifle enthusiasm from flowing freely.

Once again, Jaune sighed inwardly. "Don't call me that, I've told you this already…" Another thing that was added onto his already daunting list of worries, the two great fleet admirals had assigned him to be the pseudo-admiral of their miniature expedition fleet, and although it was a great honour to be trusted with such a role, it was no blessing to his nerves.

"Ehehe…whoops? Anyways, we're already altering our trajectory per Captain Soleil's findings."

"Prepare for a descent soon then Captain Rose, the island should be within visual range in the next half hour."

"Affirmative, _boss_."

"…"

For the first time today, Jaune sighed outwardly in all of its glory. Yet to his utter dismay, his gut told him that it would be far from his last of the day.

* * *

The island came upon sight relatively soon for the Atlesean/Vale ship trio, and it was rather breathtaking for all to see. The most obvious feature of the place was the mountain range that seemingly encircled the entire island, presenting an ostensibly impenetrable fortress. However, as they circled the island, it didn't take long to find supposed holes in this natural wall. A total of three natural inlets were quickly noted by the various crews, two of which were directly connected with a river, presenting them with direct terrestrial pathways into the inner reaches of the island.

They were surprised to see the sheer density of flora and vegetation on the island, as various species of coniferous and deciduous trees were incredibly abundant and clearly visible from the sky above, but what truly surprised them all was another thing entirely, the sight of fauna. There were live animal species living on this island, as various flocks of birds could be seen flying out of the various trees into sky right before their very eyes. It was a well-known fact that the Grimm were merciless in their killings, and although they preferred to hunt humanity, they were still prone to eliminating entire ecosystems over a short period of time for no other reason than their disposition. The fact that wildlife of any kind was thriving and existent within an area was evident of a low population of Grimm.

"Are you seeing this, Ren? " Jaune was awestruck by the breathtaking sight before him. Wildlife and natural vegetation were always rather rare commodities within the various spires, and not even the area surrounding Valean or Mistrali spires could even contest with the beauty before him.

Ren merely hummed in response, also awestruck with the sight before him.

"Captain Arc," a voice interrupted their mesmerized daydreams, "what are your orders?"

It took a moment for Jaune to rein in his thoughts and consciously recognize the question. "Helmsmen, alert the 'Invictus' and the 'Hausmärchen' that we are preparing a landing party. The 'Invictus' is to prepare whatever equipment and crew they require to map the island to the best of their ability, while the ship itself should remain airborne to scout ahead and relay information. I'll be leading a small group of our best hunters to escort whatever they choose to bring on the island, so I leave Lieutenant Lie in charge in my absence. Please relay this to Captain Rose and ask her to choose whoever she'd like to send as auxiliary carefully. Both the 'Maid' and the 'Hausmärchen' will remain airborne in the case of an emergency, keep your eyes peeled for anything out of ordinary, especially large species of Grimm, they'll be incredibly intelligent and resilient if the Leviathan was any indicator to the average age of Grimm in this place. That will be all."

"SIR, YES SIR!"

* * *

Feeling the sand underneath his boots, alongside the subtle smell of salt in the wind invading his nose, Jaune reaffirmed his appreciation for the natural beauty around him. It was unlike any other place in all of Remnant, untainted, and almost serene if not for the prior knowledge of it being the possible residence of some of the oldest Grimm known to date.

It had taken quite some time to unload all of the necessary equipment from the 'Invictus', but that was rather unsurprising due to the sheer bulk of it all. The ship had unloaded a large all-terrain troop transport, modified to carry a number of drills, dust analyzers, and various cartographic instruments for the creation of both topographic and topological mapping. The sheer size of it rivalled that of a Bullhead to his complete and utter astonishment.

In addition, they'd also been graced with the use of two modified sandrail-like fast attack vehicles (FAV). All terrain drive, excellent manoeuvrability, lightly armoured, and carrying a decent quantity of dust guns capable of firing at least 500 rpm (rounds per minute), they were a weapon fanatic's weakness, as evidenced by the cooing from both Nora and more surprisingly, Captain Rose. Jaune thought that she'd be quite nonchalant about it, but she had in fact hidden her weapon fanaticism rather well to his surprise. But he could honestly understand their enthusiasm for them, they were rather novel as well as incredibly rare considering their intended use, and it somewhat unnerved him that they'd been given such equipment so freely. Yet, considering what Ironwood had told him, it shouldn't have been such a surprise that the kingdoms would be willing to invest so much, even in the opening hand of their expedition.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU IMBECILES!" A shrill voice cut through the air, garnering the entire group's attention. At the source of the voice stood a rather imposing woman, exuding an aura of confidence and determination, shouting at familiar heads of orange and black. She sported the Atlesean uniform extremely well, its white and grey motif complimenting her sharp light-blue eyes and white hair.

Jaune groaned at the notice of her ethereal, but familiar white hair. After all, he was well acquainted with another person with such a characteristic, for better or worse. With another sigh, he walked on over to deal with whatever conflict he had now happened upon. "What's going on over here, Lieutenant Schnee?"

The woman promptly turned to face him, icy glare still evident with her features, but quickly subdued under strict discipline. "Ah, Captain Arc, it's a pleasure to see you again." Somehow Jaune doubted the authenticity of her words, but kept that to himself for his personal safety. "However, these two," she immediately pointed at the frightened pair, who had now begun hugging each other and shaking in their boots, "were tampering with a number of incredibly sensitive dust analyzers. They will certainly be instrumental in our mission, and I will not risk the accuracy and precision of their capabilities for the sake of sating somebody's curiosity."

"And I very much appreciate you doing so, but-" Jaune cringed inwardly under the woman's sudden glare, though he pressed on, "I believe that you've been rather hasty. If you'd waited before acting, you'd be quite surprised to find that the two quivering in their boots at moment are both quite aware of the importance of the equipment in question."

"How so?" Weiss' words remained icy to his dismay.

"You may not recognize her immediately, but this is Captain Ruby Rose of the 'Hausmärchen'; and beside her is the chief engineer of my ship, Chief Warrant Officer 2nd class Nora Valkyrie." Jaune moved his arm to present the pair in question. "I assure you that they meant no harm to the equipment in question."

"Yeah, chill, Ice Queen. I'd thought that it would as easy as breathing for you and your personality." A voice filled with mirth called out from behind him, immediately garnering the attention of the woman in question.

"Officer Flynt, not the time." Jaune turned and spoke sternly to the somewhat gaudy man approaching nonchalantly with a confident stride. Chief Warrant Officer 2nd class Flynt Coal was dressed in a non-standard Atlesean uniform, sporting a black formal vest instead of the typical military jacket and black pants instead of white. A silver trumpet was clipped horizontally at his waist, solidifying his jazzy demeanour. His short hair and dark brown eyes were covered by a fedora and stylish sun glasses respectively, while a silver earing gleamed from his right ear, contrasting his dark complexion.

"Sorry about that cap', you know how it is for Schnee and I over here." Flynt raised his hands placidly, mirth never seeming to leave his voice.

"Coal, it's good to see you again." Weiss interjected and glared darkly at the officer, an action that the man himself returned in spades. The atmosphere grew tense for a moment, as some sort of hidden war was waged between the two, before being immediately dispelled as the pair burst out in laughter.

"Damn Schnee, you're still as cold as ever." Coal spoke amusedly after recovering from his fit.

"And you're still an infuriating as ever." Weiss replied bemusedly with a small smile.

"And still gutsy, I see. Definitely dig it."

"She can smile?" Ruby asked in stark shock and wonderment.

"She can smile." Jaune replied with a smirk, silently laughing at her dazed fascination.

"How?! They looked like they were going to kill each other." Ruby swung her arms up in the air expressively at the sight of casual banter unfolding before her.

"Pssh, that's how they always are. You should've seen them during the first time they met in officer school, almost killed each other because of something about their parents by beating the snot out of each other, then laughing about it after destroying most of the arena." Another voice joined the growing conversation, this one incredibly cheery and bubbly.

"NEON!" A streak of orange dashed swiftly beside Jaune, almost knocking him over.

"NORA!"

"GINGER SISTERS!" The two gingers in question shouted in unison, bringing each other into a tight hug, jumping and turning circularly with reckless abandon.

Jaune and Ruby found themselves to be witnesses of another odd sight, the grand reunification between the Atlesean queens of hyperactivity and enthusiasm.

Neon was a feline Faunus with infinite cheer that matched Nora's with ease, openly expressing her bubbly personality with her every action. She was dressed simply in the standard Atlesean uniform, letting her waist length orange hair down freely over her shoulders, accented by light blue streaks of the neon variety in her bangs, as befitting her name. However, even within the simplicity, her eccentricities clearly shone through. Her left check was decorated by a bright pink heart, whether it was permanent or not had always been a mystery to everyone around her. Rather than the simple white belt that adorned most unfirms, hers had a large smiley face as a buckle. In addition, her orange tail was accessorized by a pair of neon rings, another point that clearly captured her bright personality. Yet her signature motif was the way she moved on a daily basis, rather than the simple combat boots that almost everyone wore, Neon had somehow created a pair of all-terrain pink skates to adorn her feet, wearing them wherever she went with impressive skill.

"But what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on leave till the end of the month." Nora was the first to break the hug, but the large toothy grin on her face remained strong.

The woman in question merely giggled affably at the question. "I heard about your tussle with the Leviathan, and I couldn't stay away. SOOO, I volunteered to join the mission as a temporary part of Captain Soleil's crew, though I'll be coming back with you guys." Her words earned a high-five from the other ginger. "Cap', I can't believe the one time I take a vacation from you guys is the one time you fight a giant monster. Where's my share of the excitement?"

"It's good to see you too, Master Chief Katt. And no, we will not be fighting anymore giant Grimm, if we can help it." Jaune sighed exasperatedly; it appeared that his gut was telling the truth.

"Awwwww…" Neon pouted, but quickly rescinded into a mischievous grin. "Whatever, not like it matters. There's always trouble brewing when serving under your command cap'. After all, you're a trouble magnet through and through. Oh lookie, speak of the devil, here trouble comes for ya, cap'."

Jaune raised his eyebrows questioningly when a solid object of incredible force slammed into him shortly thereafter, knocking the wind out of him. "What the hell was that?" He groaned out, lying on the sand.

"Whoops, sorry Captain Atlas. Just getting the hang of this thing…" A familiar voice called out from the FAV that hit him.

"Dammit Yang…"

"Captain Arc, do you require assistance?" The question resounded right above him, its voice curious and rather cheerful.

"…that would be much appreciated."

"Let me help with that." Another voice resounded above him, as he felt hands reaching his elbows and pulling him up.

After taking a moment to shake his head to regain his bearings, Jaune found a trio of newcomers to their previous conversation. Yang waved sheepishly from the driver seat of the FAV she was driving, mouthing apologizes for the little motor accident he was the victim of. Walking away from him was a ravenette Faunus with feline ears that twitched occasionally in response to various stimuli, while another standing right in front of him in close proximity was a much more familiar face.

Recognition dawned slowly on his mind and he felt a subtle smile growing on his face.

"Salutations captain, it is great to see you again." Her cheerful demeanour was emphasized with a bright smile, one which openly spread to her bright-green eyes and freckles.

The woman before him was a stark contrast to the girl he met over a decade ago during basic training in Atlas, and even after seeing a picture of her during their initial meeting with Ozpin and reading up on her file, seeing her in person was an entirely different beast. Gone were the short curly locks that went just above her shoulder that screamed 'cute', her hair was now longer and styled much more neatly, tied perfectly above with the same pink bow into a pony tail whose tip reached just blow her shoulder blades. She was dressed in a beige old-fashioned blouse with short feminine overalls, alongside a black and green combat cargo pants. Her neck was adorned with a matching collar adorning her neck, the same one that he gifted her all those years ago.

"Hey Penny, it's been a while. How's it going?"

* * *

"Yo, Nora, how does Captain Atlas over there know her?" Yang whispered over to the bubbly ginger, who was now beside her.

"Oh, that's Penny." Nora said matter-of-factly, more interested in FAV that hit her captain.

"Who's Penny?"

Nora merely rolled her eyes at the question, preferring to continue observing the vehicle before her, but she answered nonetheless, "Penny was Jaune's partner during basic training, all of us got along with her pretty well during the year we were a team. But, while we went into the service, she went on to become a specialist from the get-go. So, it's been a while since we've seen her."

"A specialist, hmmm?" Yang spoke questioningly, before turning to her partner and asking, "Ever worked with her, Blake?"

"She's not well-known in the intelligence field, if that's what you're asking. Then again, you're not supposed to be." Blake replied offhandedly, returning her attention to the book in hand. At a glance, Blake was a stoic-looking ravenette with piercing amber eyes. She was currently dressed in her signature attire on the field, a solid black shirt and matching combat cargo pants, contrasted only by the white bandanna wrapped around her neck, alongside the white belladonna flower that served as her emblem on the outside of her right pant leg. Most knew Blake as an accomplished intelligence officer and ferocious hunter within the Valean ranks, but Yang knew her much better as her loveable partner, much to the ravenette's chagrin during their early days together.

"It just feels like I've seen her before…"

"You probably saw her picture at the meeting." Yang rolled her eyes at her partner's rather lacklustre explanation.

"No, I'm sure I've seen her before…"

"You were part of the Atlas Navy before Vale's, maybe you've met her before."

"Maybe, but I don't think-"

She could hear the thumping sound of a closing book amidst her partner's now exasperated tone, "Yang, not everything is a conspiracy…"

"Blake, you work in the intelligence division, you have no right to say that."

Silence was the only the sound shared between the pair for a moment, before the ravenette simply shook her head and sighed, "Touché, Xiao Long, touché."

* * *

After fully recovering from his motor accident, Jaune now stood on the roof of their troop transport, clearing his throat to address their rag-tag force of collaborators with the usual combination of exasperation and mirth. "I know we've all been briefed on this back at our respective HQs, but let me reiterate for the sake of precaution.

Alright, we've got 72 hours of supplies and time to map out as much of this island as possible. We've already assembled a small landing party, and the people you see around you will be your close allies for the next three days or so. Most of our necessities and equipment will be carried by the troop transport you see behind you, driven by Lieutenant Schnee and Chief Warrant Officer Polendina over here. The troop transport will also provide us with a long-range communications channel to our respective vessels, so be sure to brief each crew regularly in the case of any changes to the situation. The rest of us will divide ourselves equally between the two FAVs provided for us, each carrying a maximum of five combatants, totalling eleven people in our expedition. We will be following the river inland for the time being, and if the river ends we will double back and resupply, before beginning to map the island circularly and inwardly, beginning from the base of a mountain range. The goal of this mission is to scout, map, explore, and observe the general terrain and wildlife. DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT, actively engage the fauna or alter the area in any fashion unless blatantly provoked in self-defense. Keep your eyes peeled for Grimm, and stay vigilant above all else."

Jaune cleared his throat once again and straightened his back, finding the surprising emotion of anticipation growing inside of him. He laughed inwardly at this twist, even in the darkest of moments, with a heavy burden weighing down on his shoulders, the little explorer within him still raged strong and wild to his amusement. "We are the first group of men and women, Faunus and human, to step foot on this island since the rise of the spires, perhaps since the creation of the island itself. This is an opportunity that may never come again, a first of its kind, and perhaps its last. However, this leaves us with little room for error, and even less room for regrets. So I say, we bring the best damned map the world has ever seen and take back a piece of the surface for humanity, now and forever. SO WHAT DO WE SAY TO THAT?" His voice had unintentionally grown louder overtime, resulting in a thundering boom as a finisher to his complete surprise.

But his enthusiasm was not met with silence, as the group before him resounded his enthusiasm back in spades, "HOOYAH!"

* * *

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll just quickly address some things before signing off.**

 **1\. I didn't describe the destroyer because it wasn't important at the moment, you'll get a detailed description later. Yes, I am aware that destroyers do not carry supplies, but this a modified ship for this specific mission. If you'd like more information, go search up what a destroyer actually does online, interesting stuff.**

 **2\. FAV (Fast attack vehicle), cool looking dune buggies with guns on them, modified in this case to be all terrain. Search them up, also incredibly cool.**

 **3\. Troop transport, I designed ours to look like a double sized Tatrapa (multipurpose military vehicle), it'll be carrying quite a bit of equipment, and in our case it'll be an all-terrain 8 x 8. It has a winch, a small crane, etc. It's cool, but not necessarily a huge part of the plot, cool vehicle to learn about though.**

 **4\. Ciel, all we know is she's stoic and has a penchant for time, I'm taking creative license as usual. Neon and Flynt though have actual character, so I'm basing them off of what we know in the show, they have history with our current crew, hope you enjoyed the little things. I made design changes to Neon, not because I don't like it, but because her regular outfit is much too informal for a military/naval setting. I based her changed design off of this fanart by mojojoj ( twitter/mojojoj27827860/status/674547100038750210 ~ add .com to end of twitter, I had to get rid of it because Fanfiction is crazy about links).  
**

 **5\. Penny is Jaune's replacement for Pyrrha in terms of their schooling days, more will be revealed soon. Hope you like her characterization, this is a Penny with much more human experience, so she will much less awkward and rigid in speech, action, etc. However, she'll still have the same vocabulary and personality, just a much smoother way of expressing it.**

 **6\. I'm just going to remind everyone that the ranking system of the navy in this world is based off of the US naval forces. However, there will be slight differences in exact roles of each position, alongside whether they be non-commissioned officers, enlisted, etc. (ASSUME EVERYBODY CAN ACT IN THE FIELD IF NEED BE, like I've said before after a certain rank, ALL members receive hunter training)  
**

 **7\. Hope I did not offend anybody by calling people gingers, because that would be awkward.**

 **8\. We see weapons next chapter, weapons in number and strength that would make the American forces drool in appreciation.**

 **Thanks again for reading ladies and gents, appreciate all of you, leave a review if you need to say something, whether good or bad. Otherwise, consider leaving a follow, fav, or PM. Good day to you all.**


	9. Chapter 08: Small Blind

**AN: Hello again, I did not expect to get this out so soon, but this is my way of making up for the fact that I went AWOL for a week due to summer midterms. Hope you enjoy this chapter, but I got to answer some reviews and respond to some reviews first (whether or not I responded in a PM, others may also be wondering, so I'll also answer them here).**

 **goddy80119: Penny is still an android. However, this is a Penny with almost a decade of experience in human interaction and emotion, so she will be a lot more human than she is in canon.**

 **Soulfulbard: Island's based off of Isla Nubar.**

 **StalinWasBetter (never thought I would ever have to write that): I have not had the fortune of reading the HALO series, but considering your glowing recommendation, I may pick them up soon.**

 **Edit: Last chapter I mentioned Jaune's group had 12 people, I was being an idiot and misreading my own storyboard, its supposed to be 11. I changed this in the last chapter also.**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

 **Note: I spell using the British/UK version of English**

 **" _Bold_ & _Italicized_ "** _-_ Speech of radio (I may go back and change this in some earlier chapters). _  
_

"Normal letters" - Normal speech

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Small Blind**

* * *

" _What you risk reveals what you value."_

 _\- Jeanette Winterson_

At the centre of a small clearing surrounded by dense foliage, voices roared defiantly over the clash of blades and armoured carapace. It had only been a few hours since they landed their bullhead on this Oum-forsaken island, and Pyrrha had already come to regret it vehemently. The small landing party she had assembled had for the most part been left alone by the 'natives' of the island, but the very moment a certain blonde Faunus had opened his mouth, claiming that he was 'bored', their luck had taken a sudden leave of absence.

"You know, when I said I wanted a bit more excitement in my time here, this is not what I had in mind."

She inwardly grimaced at the blonde beside her, resolving to throw him off of the next cliff she came across. "Shut your mouth, Wukong, and put your mouth where your weapon is." Pyrrha swung her shield quickly to defend herself, narrowly preventing a swift demise by decapitation from the beast in front of her. Realizing its failure to kill its prey, the creature of Grimm lifted itself into air, circling the clearing.

The small landing party of eight that she led had encountered a pair of Griffons, and much to their dismay, they were incredibly old. The one she was currently fighting was larger than a full-sized bus and probably weighted just as much. Yet, it somehow moved with incredible dexterity, swiftly dodging and countering her blows at every turn. If that wasn't perilous enough, it also sported a hardy carapace on its skull, preventing any method, short of directly beheading it, from actually killing the beast in a timely fashion. At least, if one was unable to shatter it.

It deftly swung a heavy claw at her once again, pushing her to remain on the defensive as she received the blow at her center of mass. The blow was incredibly heavy, enabled by the surprising amount of momentum it had gained during its short flight path over the clearing, pushing her back a couple of meters. However, she remained strong on her feet and quickly resettled her stance with a brave smile.

"Sun, buy me some time! Everybody else, keep it contained." The blonde beside merely nodded at her orders, dashing into the fray to assist her crew with a swift flourish of aerial kicks and shotgun shells, garnering the Griffon's undivided attention.

Twirling Miló in a small circle, the Xiphos shifted into a familiar rifle in her hand. She deftly aimed the weapon at the beast's head and fired a burst single-handedly, its aim steadied by her semblance and its recoil severely dulled by the same method. Nonetheless, the dull strains against her grip served as an excellent timing indicator for what she had planned.

With another brave smile and a simple circular wave of her free hand, she poured power into the fired projectiles, manipulating them into taking slight shifts in direction to form a singular file, but never losing any momentum in the process. Then in the blink of an eye, they gained incredible speed. Then in another, a small boom could be heard throughout the entire clearing, followed soon thereafter by the sound of something shattering.

Sun could hardly believe his eyes. He even rubbed them a number of times to ensure that he was not in fact dreaming, but the sight before him had remained the same time and time again. Right before him stood an abruptly dead Griffon, its carapace complete shattered, as a singular bullet hole ran cleanly through the entirety of its skull.

He swiftly turned to the approaching head of scarlet and spoke excitedly, "Now I know why they call you the 'Goddess of Victory'! And that's cool and all, BUT HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?"

The redhead before him merely rolled her eyes at him. "Practice and some ingenuity, Wukong."

"But-"

Interrupting his line of questioning though was a shout echoing above them, "YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH, SOMEBODY GET ME OFF OF THIS STUPID THING!"Looking up into the sky, a smirk formed on his face as a familiar head of light-blue could be seen struggling fervently between the claws of the other Griffon they had encountered.

"We can talk about this later," Pyrrha let out a heavy sigh as she shook her head, "and as much as I would love to leave your partner up there, we need him at the moment."

He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled awkwardly, wondering just how his best friend had survived so long in their particular line of business.

* * *

 _ **100 km upriver from landing site…**_

"I think I hear something." Blake said, her ears twitching wildly in the wind.

"Probably somebody in the car behind us, don't worry about it."

"Yang…" She spoke exasperatedly, her eyes narrowing at her partner.

The blonde in question merely laughed at her display and continued driving, if it could even be called that. Yang's driving was insane as evidenced by the numerous mud puddles they had purposefully run over, repeatedly. The path along the river had proved to be an excellent route deeper inland, albeit a somewhat testing one. As they continued upriver, the path in question had steadily become narrower and more hazardous, resulting in their small convoy of three ending up as a single file. Currently, it was their FAV taking point, followed by the troop transport driven by the Schnee heiress, and tailed by the other FAV driven by Nora.

She grimaced internally at the thought of the bubbly ginger's driving, unsure about who unnerved her more behind the wheel of high-speed vehicle, her daredevil partner or the hyperactive Atlesean.

"Hey, Blake? What's going on over there?" A voice directly above her asked.

Turning her head to answer the question, she found herself looking upwards at her newly appointed captain, one Ruby Rose, who was currently hanging precariously off the side of the FAV's caged structure. "What's what, Ruby?" She replied.

"Over there, the treetops are shaking."

Blake turned to follow her captain's gaze and her eyes widened slightly at the sight. Although some distance away, the movements of treetops could be obviously seen, and more alarmingly, coincided almost perfectly with the direction of sound she had heard earlier. "Yang, stop the car."

"What? Wh-"

"Yang. Stop. The. Car." She gritted her teeth and glared at her partner, amber eyes meeting lilac in silent opposition.

"Alright." The vehicle eased, losing momentum steadily until they came to a full stop, and soon the others followed suit.

" _ **This is Captain Arc, everything okay up there?**_ " A voice echoed out from the FAV's radio transmitter, static occasionally interrupting the transmission.

" _ **Warrant Officer Merah here, Ensign Belladonna has requested to stop the convoy.**_ " A strong hand moved beside her to answer the question, its owner's strong gaze looking to her for an answer.

Merah was a medium-built, but stocky member of the Atlesean forces. With short, combed dark-brown hair and matching dark-brown eyes that gave off a strong sense of maturity, the serious man was the stereotypical picture of an Atlesean naval officer and hunter, bolstered only by signature attire of standard issue white and grey. He was someone who had clearly experienced quite a bit in the field, honing his instincts to the utmost degree, and it had obviously told him that whatever Blake had noticed was probably important.

The man handed her the receiver with a curt nod, and she spoke into it with a small sigh, " _ **Captain, this is Ensign Belladonna. Captain Rose and I have noticed a disturbance in the tree tops just across the river west of us. I've also picked up sounds from whatever it is, and at the moment it's definitely getting closer.**_ "

" _ **How close?**_ "

Blake once again and tilted her head towards the captain above her. She mouthed the question to Ruby, who promptly nodded at her and pulled out a pair of binoculars.

"Blake, they're getting faster. Give or take two minutes." Ruby's reply was somewhat rushed, but nonetheless effective in transmitting the necessary information cohesively.

" _ **Two minutes tops, captain.**_ " She relayed the information, a feeling of urgency increasingly growing within her.

* * *

" _ **Keep your eyes peeled then, we move at the first sign of danger.**_ " Jaune spoke hoarsely into the receiver, his hands now hovering above the hilt of the rifle conveniently placed beside him.

Putting the receiver down, he turned to face the rest of the group, signalling Nora to prepare for a quick getaway if necessary, while for the rest of them to ready themselves for the worst possible situation. The small squad of four readily complied, tensing their bodies and sharpening their senses in anticipation.

Flynt had pulled out his silver trumpet, inserting various canisters of dust into a set of mechanical valves and turning off the safety, readying a quick blast of whatever battle support they would ever require. Beside him, Neon stood vigilantly, utilizing her superior senses as a Faunus to continue watching the tree line, while blue neon nunchucks glowed eagerly at her sides.

Aside from the two more eccentric Atleseans, there sat a more conservative officer with weapons armed and ready. Master Chief Biru easily towered over the rest of them at a height of just over 1.9 metres, allowing his short but messy black hair and heavy build to serve as an excellent indicator of his presence wherever he went. The clothes on his back could scarcely contain the mountain of a man they contained, while the trimmed beard on his chiselled jawline only multiplied the blatant display of masculinity.

Jaune had have known Biru for a good while, the man was wise, loyal, and truly a force to be reckoned with in any situation. He was a heavy hitter in every sense of the word, his weapon smoothly shifting between battle-axe and automatic shotgun whenever he deemed fit, usually resulting in an infinite trail of Grimm in his wake, especially after being one of the brave few who had served extensively on the surface, repeatedly.

"Captain Arc…" The man's voice was throaty and deep, further compounding his incredible masculinity.

"Biru." Jaune's reply was quick and curt, as he guardedly watched for any sign of approaching movement.

"I know this may sound odd coming from me, but I think we should run."

Jaune's eyes widened at the man's words, anxiety digging deeper into his stomach. "How can you tell?"

"Gut feeling," Biru grunted out, fingers tapping rhythmically on the trigger of his weapon.

"Wha-" Interrupting Jaune's train of thought, several trees directly across of them had toppled harshly into the river, followed quickly by the sound of a visceral trumpet and heavy thumping. Directing his head towards the foreign sound, his eyes widened harshly and his mind kicked into overdrive, as a large mass of black hurriedly crossed the shallow bend of the river after them.

"NORA, DRIVE!" His voice boomed over the sight and he pulled the receiver close, speaking hurriedly into it, " _ **YANG, SCHNEE, WE'RE BACKTRACKING. NOW. PENNY, SEND A MESSAGE TO THE SHIPS, WE'RE GOING TO NEED AN EVAC.**_ "

The sound of tires squealing reverberated all around them, as the small convoy did a systematic U-turn and accelerated forward. Engines roared and brakes screeched in protest as the vehicles were pushed to their physical limits by their respective motorists. The convoy of three swiftly rounded corners deeper into the forest, harrowingly weaving around obstacles of every kind, fallen trees, standing trees, rock formations, and at more precarious times, each other. They continued to blaze hazardously through whatever path they could find (or make) downriver, utilizing narrower and more hazardous paths in an attempt to shake their pursuers off. Nora was currently leading the pack with a toothy grin on her expression, followed closely by an exasperated looking Schnee rigidly gripping the wheel in slight panic, trailed hurriedly by a certain blonde brawler and her colourful choice of language, and all the while pursued by an angered herd of Goliaths with blatant bloodlust chasing after them.

You know, a typical day for Captain Jaune Arc and his merry crew.

"Dammit Cap', Command told us they'd be almost no Grimm here." Flynt was the first to speak after their swift change of direction, tightly holding onto his fedora and preventing it from flying off into the wind.

"It wouldn't be the first time Command has given bad intel based off of assumptions." Biru soon grumbled out, hand still wrapped around his beloved shotgun.

"AHAHAHA," Neon laughed vivaciously beside him, an infinitely large grin plastered on her face, "in their defense, they did say the older and larger species were possible residents of the island. I told ya that adventure goes wherever you go, cap'!"

"Well, I'd like to make it stop! And since I can't get a restraining order against it, we're going to have to deal with whatever it throws at us." Jaune half-shouted his response to the Faunus, gritting his teeth in solemn indignation. His hand remained tightly around the receiver as he hurriedly spoke into it, " _ **Captain Rose, how many are following us?**_ "

 _ **"We've lost most of the herd in the forest paths we were using earlier, but we've still got trio of big ones over here. Monty Oum, they're probably two, three stories tall.**_ "

Jaune internally swore at their predicament, his mind contemplating their options. For one, speed was definitely not an option for them, as the foliage was much too dense to reach the vehicle's maximum velocity, alongside the fact that they couldn't leave the much slower troop transport behind without jeopardizing the mission. The Goliaths themselves were also unwilling to slow down, as their larger mass and superior strength allowed them to go through obstacles rather than around them. That left either brute force or ingenuity, and considering the Grimm's preferred method of dealing with obstacles, he preferred not to take on any of them directly, let alone all three of the bastards.

His mind continued to race about for a solution, shuffling through a seemingly infinite mindscape for any semblance of a plan that wouldn't get all of them killed in the next hour. At that point, images of their charted river and a familiar set of glyphs came into mind.

"Nora, how far are we from the narrowest part of the river?" Jaune turned quickly to the driving engineer.

She lifted an eyebrow quizzically at the question, but nonetheless brought up the vehicle's digital navigation map. "From what we've charted in the past few hours, we got five minutes before we hit the closest one, shallowest one of the bunch too, but it's a set of rapids. Why?"

He displayed a grin at the question and winked, "I got a plan."

"You always do, fearless leader." Nora chuckled amusedly, a brief respite in a situation fraught with tension.

Picking up the receiver once again, he brought it close and let out a large sigh, " _ **Lieutenant Schnee, I got a plan to get us out of this, but we're going to need your glyphs.**_ "

" _ **How-**_ " She stuttered, surprise evident in her voice before he promptly cut her off.

" _ **Just listen for a moment, you can ask questions after we've figured out how to avoid death for another day, alright? Alright, we need a path of gravity glyphs to form a bridge and propel us across the rapids to the other side of the river, and our window of opportunity is fast approaching, so can you do it?**_ "

" _ **OF COURSE NOT, YOU DOLT! The weight of the troop transport would be much too taxing on the integrity of the glyphs, let alone the additional FAVs."**_

Jaune's ears rung unpleasantly at the resulting screech, causing him to harshly grit his teeth before stubbornly continuing, _**"What if we could empower them?**_ "

" _ **With what? An Aura battery?**_ "Her voice was laced with blatant sarcasm much to his amusement. After all, she wasn't far from the truth.

" _ **Yes.**_ "

" _ **You know what? I'm not even going to ask.**_ " A small exasperated sigh could be clearly heard through the transmission, _ **"What do you need me to do?"**_

" _ **Get onto roof of the troop transport. I'll meet you there.**_ "

" _ **Wha- Fine, whatever, just do what you need to do.**_ "

With that out of the way, he once again turned to the engineer beside him with a smile, "Nora, can you get us right beside them?"

With a quick nod, she shifted gears and brought the FAV into pace with the heavier transport behind them. The path had widened for some time, but with a brief look ahead, it was clearly not going to stay that way. Foliage had once again encroached closer towards the river beside them, steadily narrowing the path to barely fit one vehicle across, leaving little time for hesitation.

After a subtle turn of the wheel, the FAV moved closer towards the transport, steadily keeping pace with it over the multitude of depressions and bumps in the road. From the front passenger, Jaune prepped himself for the jump, steadying himself by tightly holding onto the cage of the vehicle as it shook.

"Cap', whatever you're planning to do, you better do it quick. They're gaining on us." Flynt's spoke anxiously, gaze remaining on the incoming mass of death approaching them.

He nodded curtly at the man's statement and turned towards them to address them quickly before his jump, "Neon, get in contact with Yang and brief her over the plan. Nora, after I jump, slow down and stay at the back of the pack. Flynt use that opportunity to buy us some time with your weapon; some Ice Dust frozen over could rob them of some traction, slowing them. Biru, assist Flynt in whatever he plans to do, put those shotgun shells to use."

Breathing out the last of his orders, a feeling of urgency quickly returned with a vengeance in the pits of his stomach, stifled only by the fact that had jumped at the same time as its resurgence. His hands flailed awkwardly about as he soared, impacting the hard armoured surface rather harshly. However, faith smiled upon him for once, as his hands landed perfectly onto the roof of the transport and gripped its edge instinctively, allowing him to pull himself up with relative ease.

"Took you long enough," an annoyed voice echoed out above him as he reached the top.

He rolled his eyes under her disapproving glare and warily stood himself up, "Lieutenant Schnee, ready?"

"No, but it doesn't look like I have much of a choice."

"Well then, our target's in sight, rapids 100 metres ahead." He said, half-shouting.

"You better not get me killed, Arc."

"No promises."

* * *

Unsheathing her familiar rapier, Weiss skilfully shifted the Dust chambers with practiced ease, aligning the barrel with the necessary black-coloured dust that may either be the key to their survival or their watery graves. She felt the weight of the weapon grow heavier in her hands, probably in correlation with the weight of lives and futures that hung in the balance.

Turning once again to the blonde captain beside her, she received a curt nod and a brave smile, one that she was only able to return with a slight grimace. She strutted determinedly towards the front edge of the roof and lifted her blade towards the direction of the rapids, pouring Aura into the metallic construct that served as her weapon and her semblance's conductor.

Black glyphs sprouted quickly on the surface of the river, stretching from one side to the other, while just large enough for one vehicle to pass through at a time. Each sported a large intricate snowflake as a personal insignia of her work, rotating slowly and humming with breathtaking power.

The transport was first to hit the pseudo-bridge, accelerating forward at an incredible rate, causing her and the captain to crouch and buckle down due to the sudden shift in momentum. For a moment, she was hopeful that all would be well as the vehicle continued onwards, but steadily growing fissures of failing power could be felt within her mind. Sounds akin to cracking glass could be heard around them as the rest of the convoy reached the bridge. She almost instantly crumbled underneath the newfound weight, straining desperately to keep the glyphs active as the pressure pushed against the limits of her soul. It was excruciating.

Then in the outer reaches of her mind, a song simply came into existence. The tune was not a complex piece, far from it actually, nor was it the most harmonious or well-orchestrated, but the simple melody it carried was serene and incredibly empowering. The burden on her mind gradually began to lessen, allowing her to regain her footing. But, the sight she now witnessed was almost shocking enough to buckle her knees once again.

She could feel the fissures in her power closing rapidly, causing her to gape at the sight of her black glyphs. They had been altered and repaired, now sporting a familiar golden glow within the original scheme of black and white, humming with amplified power. As she slowly regained more feeling in her body, the light touch of a strong hand could be felt on her shoulder. Its owner exuded an ethereal glow of golden Aura, power embodied in glowing musical notes that flowed freely, almost whimsically around him and then towards her, infusing directly with a white glow of Aura that surrounded her. The sight was beautiful.

The bridge held strong as they reached the other side with little to no harm, followed closely by rest of the convoy, who all had similar expressions of awe at the sight before them. Soon thereafter though, just as quickly as they had appeared, the golden glow and serene melody faded into nonexistence, her glyphs shattering along with them.

As the bridge shattered in their wake, the Goliaths were left with no method of crossing the rapids, preferring to silently watch them across the river. Yet, as they once again unsheathed their weapons and waited in tense silence, they creatures of Grimm simply lost interest and walked away. They had survived.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed another chapter of my little story, quite a bit happened. So I'll talk about them here too:**

 **1\. Did I just imply that Pyrrha broke the sound barrier with her semblance? Yes. Is this possible? Theoretically maybe. I mean if a semblance's power is directly correlated with the strength of a person's Aura and their experience with it, a decade of practice and regular use could allow people to do some crazy things with their innate abilities. Plus, if Aura is a representation of one's soul, it should grow and change according to age and experience, so a Pyrrha with this much battle experience could in theory be powerful enough to do this. After all, so far the only limitation I can realistically see is weight, not necessarily how much momentum she is able to pass onto an object with any method of her choosing. (Besides its a work of fiction, somewhat grounded fiction, but still fiction).**

 **2\. Two OCs, Biru (Blue in Indonesian) and Merah (Red in Indonesian), were introduced this chapter. Don't worry, they're not going to stay for too long and they're not really a big part of the main story, maybe a cameo or two if I need extra characters to round off a group.**

 **3\. Pay attention to how Weiss narrates her experience with Jaune's semblance, note how different it is to the way Pyrrha felt it and note the similarities. If you don't want to, let me just state it then, DIFFERENT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE HIS AURA TRANSFER UNIQUELY. This is related to how Aura is unique to every person, and how his Aura blends/mixes with another's causes some rather unique experiences to transpire.**

 **4\. Neptune fans, he's not going to be the butt of all my jokes, don't worry.**

 **Well that's it for now then, hope you enjoyed the chapter ladies and gents'. As usual, if you want to say something, leave a review, whether good or bad. If you liked it consider giving a follow or fav. Thank you again for taking the time to read this, and I hope to continue entertaining you.**


	10. Chapter 09: Opening Hand

**AN: Hello everyone, here's another chapter of my little story. If you haven't noticed, I've changed the cover of this story temporarily, might as well use something I personally created every once in a while. If you've got artistic talent and have something in mind for a cover, go ahead and send it to me, maybe I'll use it.**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Opening Hand**

* * *

 _"Expect the best, prepare for the worst."_

 _\- Muhammad Ali Jinnah_

After breathing a large collective sigh of relief, the small group of naval officers had taken some time to regain their bearings and reassess their situation. Barely being able to stand on his own after utilizing his semblance to such an extent, Jaune was currently leaning tiredly on the troop transport, empty water bottle in one hand and his head in the other. Dealing with an excruciating headache, he inwardly cursed his semblance's hazardous potency, while intermittently thanking Oum above that it was his to freely use. It was a rather difficult and complex relationship in his life.

Interrupting his rather sardonic thoughts, however, was a small hand placed fondly upon his shoulder. He turned slowly to face its owner, finding a pair of fretful bright-green eyes watching him closely with a corresponding subtle pout.

"Jaune." Concern obviously laced deeply within her voice.

"Penny." He replied curtly, attempting to dispel the awkward atmosphere with a tilted smile.

Unfortunately, her pout only seemed to deepen at his expression, followed closely by an exasperated sigh. "Sir Arc, it has been an entire decade since we've worked together, and somehow you are still as reckless as ever…"

He chuckled nervously at her statement, finding a lack of rebuttals for the unfortunately true statement.

"I mean, jumping from a moving vehicle to another, operating your semblance on the roof of one, and entirely overlooking your physical limitations with little care for your own safety, have you realized your mistakes? Or must I go on?" Her eyes narrowed slightly in tandem with her question.

"Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am." He felt his back straighten unconsciously under her gaze and gulped nervously. Years of living with seven sisters had taught him to fear for his life whenever a woman narrowed her eyes at you.

Somewhat satisfied with his answer, Penny's expression and tone shifted drastically, as a sweet smile grew rapidly on her face, "I will admit though, that was rather sensational, even if I couldn't personally see it from behind the wheel."

"Reminds you of old times?"

She giggled at the question, eyes wandering lazily over the river. "The only thing I remember is a certain someone collapsing and fainting almost daily after training for an entire year."

He rolled his eyes at her words, before bursting out into laughter beside her. "I can't really deny that, but teasing? Wow, since when have you been able to do that?"

Penny giggled once again before answering, "You pick up a thing or two when you spend so much time with Ciel out of the field."

"Really?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Most definitely."

"What do you two do?"

"Oh the usual, we paint our nails, and try on clothes," she turned and smiled mischievously at him, "and talk about boys."

He began to laugh uncontrollably at her words, his image of the stoic Atlesean captain shattering completely at the seemingly impossible, but nonetheless endearing revelation. Soon thereafter, Penny joined him and the two shared a hearty laugh for quite some time by the riverbank. Who could've thought that a remote island of questionable Grimm population was an excellent locale for reconnecting with old friends?

* * *

After recovering and vehemently convincing Penny that he could walk by himself, Jaune strode towards the makeshift table surrounded by his party, some of whom were obviously locked in a heated discussion. With such volumes, he was sure the entire forest could hear them. After eluding the Goliath herd, they had taken some time to discuss their future courses of action; yet, even after what had possibly been all the time in the world, they were still unable to decide upon or even agree upon any sort of action. Although it could be partially attributed to the clashing of differing ideas and personalities of various members of the party, it had nonetheless been a mistake on his part when he failed to elect a second-in-command when nursing his blasted headache.

As he moved closer to the group, his headache returned with a vengeance. It throbbed angrily at the influx of volume as various voices were raised. Yang's voice was the loudest, followed by Weiss', and somewhere in between them was Ruby's, ironically attempting to placate them by matching them. Quickly entering the small circle, he walked determinedly towards the table and slammed his hands into it, garnering the immediate attention of the group and in turn, a brief moment of relieving silence.

"Stop. Just stop." He paused to meet each of them in the eye and sighed, "Now tell me what's going on before we all get swarmed by Grimm or anything else that lives here, because Oum knows that you've probably attracted the attention of anything and everything on this island." In the wake of his words, the group was silent for a moment, uncertainty flowing wildly as they exchanged discomfited looks with one another.

Nevertheless, someone did indeed overcome their mortification to speak, "Captain Arc, we were discussing our next course of action."

"Oh, I am well-aware of this Captain Rose, and so is the entire island," the woman flinched slightly at his words, "but please do go on."

"The team is split evenly between two possible proposals, both of which are entirely viable in their own rights."

"Yeah, and one of them is only viable to get us all killed." Flynt grunted out.

"HEY, YOU SHUT YOUR WHOR-"

"COAL, XIAO LONG, both of you shut your mouths, grit your teeth, and LISTEN." Jaune shot a deathly glare towards the duo, emphasizing the last word rather strongly as he did so. "Rose, continue."

"Well, considering what Weiss and Nora have told me, we have no way of creating another bridge to return to other side of the river." He nodded at her statement, both he and Weiss had expended a large amount of energy and resources to enable their escape, it would be incredibly unlikely that they'd be able to replicate the feat in the same day. "This side of the river merely leads to a sheer cliff face at the bay we first landed on, leaving us with one of two general options. Either we contact the ship and find our way towards another inlet large enough for a pickup and resupply, or we continue upriver to its source and double back on the other side."

"I agree that both are entirely viable for our next course of action, so what are your thoughts Captain Rose?"

"I believe we should contact the ship and find another bay for an evac." She said determinedly, meeting his eyes in a similar fashion.

"And this is where I disagree, Captain Arc." An annoyed voice interjected.

"Lieutenant Schnee, could you expand on that?" He raised an eyebrow quizzically at her, signalling her to begin her rebuttal.

The officer in question merely nodded, promptly acquiring the undivided attention of everyone present with practiced ease. "Well, first and foremost is the fact that during our initial sweep of the island, we were only able to spot three direct inlets into the island, one of which we utilized as our initial landing zone on the south side of the island. However, the closest inlet to us at the moment is approximately a hundred kilometres west of our current position and is a rather precarious cliff face. It will undoubtedly be incredibly difficult for any of our ships to dock there without proper equipment, let alone how long it will take to traverse the terrain over there. This leaves the last inlet we found on the north side of the island, a large bay approximately four hundred kilometres away from here. The fact of the matter is that we only have enough supplies for approximately three days of survival, possibly four if we are careful, and we cannot risk freely traversing unknown terrain without a plan. Our safest bet is to follow the river to its source and double back towards our initial site, as according to our initial sweep it should only take us a total of two days to do this. Then we can resupply and be better prepared to move further inland."

"Weiss, just listen to me for a sec-"

"Captain Rose, with all due respect, I do not appreciate you addressing me so casually." The Atlesean hissed darkly.

"HEY, NOBODY TALKS TO MY SISTER LIKE THAT!"

Jaune could feel the heat and fiery passion in the blonde's words, and so could the icy heiress herself. Weiss flinched slightly at the display of seemingly righteous fury, but rather than retreating, she folded her arms disapprovingly and returned the blonde's glare with one of her own.

Before their situation could descend into deeper madness, he stepped up and placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder and shook his head. The simple gesture seemed to calm the heiress down and she quickly mumbled out an apology to his relief, and to his greater relief, it was satisfying enough to placate the fiery blonde.

With a tired sigh, he turned to address the group as a whole, hoping to salvage the situation before it devolved further. "Alright, I understand that we are all under a great deal of stress under the current circumstances, but as experience has probably taught all of us, letting our emotions get the better of us is irrational and rather dangerous. So let's avoid any more outbursts, shall we?" Only receiving silence in turn, he slowly rubbed his temples and continued, "Captain Rose, you had something to say?"

"Yes, during our initial sweep of the island on the 'Hausmärchen', at the bottom of the cliff face mentioned by Wei- I mean Lieutenant Schnee, the sensors registered an expansive system with large dust signatures. These signatures imply that the cave system must be rather expansive and considering the average size of a dust crystal formation, it should be large enough for all of our vehicles to pass through. If we can an entrance from the surface, not only would we be reaching a viable evac point, but we would also be achieving our main objectives, confirming and assessing the presence of dust on this island, whilst also mapping out more of the island." The Valean captain spoke determinedly, regarding each of them with silver eyes that practically beamed charisma.

As Ruby concluded her argument, he immediately turned to face the group's resident cartographer, fishing for her assessment and expertise concerning the Rose's claims. He received a small smile in turn followed by a swift reply, "She is indeed correct, captain. The advanced sensors of the 'Sol' also registered the expansive opening at the bottom of the cliff, alongside the dust signatures. However, what Captain Rose's ship did not register on their sensors was the fact that the signatures were fluctuating rather than remaining at a constant. We were unable to come to a conclusion on why that may be and noted it as a possible point of investigation for a later point in time."

He nodded contemplatively and narrowed his eyes. "And why was I not informed of this?" Penny flinched slightly at the question, his voice unconsciously turning cold at the revelation.

"I-I-Cap-," she continued stuttering for some time before meeting his gaze and sighing, "Captain Soleil believed that it warranted further preliminary investigation before taking the risk of sending in a team. As you know, a large cave system with ample reserves of dust is an excellent location for a Leviathan's nest. Her ship is probably in the general vicinity of the caverns, and if circumstances have not been altered severely, she would currently be sending in a number of unmanned drones to scout the tunnels."

Jaune released another sigh for the umpteenth time today, steadily rubbing his temples again in slight frustration. "Very well, as much as I would have loved to be informed beforehand, this doesn't alter our situation too much, although, I will have to speak extensively about the importance of open communication in a collaborated effort to Captain Soleil when we return." Turning now to face the entire group, he gestured amiably and tiredly asked, "Does anybody else have something say?"

He soon came to regret those words, as a rather pleasant echoed from the parted tree line behind him, sending severe shivers down his spine, "If I may captain, I do have a suggestion."

* * *

Walking into the clearing by the river bank, Pyrrha raised a singular hand for a small wave while the other hovered readily over the hilt of Miló. "You know, for what I assume is a covert mission on behalf of the kingdoms, you are rather loud." As the words rolled off her tongue, she could scarcely contain the laughter bubbling within her when the blonde captain began throwing a number of deathly glares at the surrounding members of his team.

He steadily turned towards her, hand mirroring hers as it hovered over the hilt of the blade strapped to his hip. "Nikos, if you really wanted to see me again so soon, you shouldn't have left my ship." A few gasps were released all around, some at the reveal of her rather disreputable name, and others for the fact that she was present on an active Atlesean military vessel and had somehow remained free.

"I'm an avid believer that 'if you love something, set if free'." She replied earnestly with a growing smirk.

He scoffed humorously and rolled his eyes at her. "I don't doubt that."

"Look at that, we're making so much progress in our relationship already."

"If I wasn't so tired, I would be laughing," his eyes remained sharp and cautious as he attempted to circle her position, an action that she immediately followed, "but let's stop this sorry excuse for banter and figure out what you're here for, shall we?"

The two captains continued to circle each other, neither giving much ground to the other. It was a silent match of wills as astute cerulean-blues met defiant lilac greens. Sparks of various implications seemed to fly between the pair, only occasionally interrupted by the momentary glances either threw at the other's group of allies.

She was first to take the initiative and once again break the growing silence, "I'd like to make a proposition, captain."

"And what would that be?"

"Both you and I are working towards the same thing."

To her silent amusement, his eyes only grew warier with her statement. "And what are we working towards, Nikos?"

"Mapping the island," she stated, grinning knowingly at him, "and a few other things."

"Even so, I would still have to ask you to leave. After all, you are interfering with a sanctioned mission of the kingdoms." His voice was sharp, leaving little doubt on his position in the matter.

"Last time I checked, this island remained unclaimed and is free for all to walk upon."

"Point, but you are nevertheless a wanted criminal, alongside the rest of your crew."

She smirked humorously at the blonde. "Point, but exceptions can always be made for every rule, hmm?"

"Point, but you know what they say about Atleseans, we're real sticklers for rules." He replied dryly with a sarcastic wink. "Care to surrender?"

Unsheathing Miló, she smiled pleasantly at the blonde and shook her head, "Not today, captain."

"A shame then," he mirrored her by unsheathing his sword and shield, eyes remaining guardedly on her before a subtle smile grew on his face, "RUBY, NOW!"

At the corner of her eye, a red streak could be seen momentarily as an object whistled through the air from her flank and impacted the ground somewhere behind her. Shortly thereafter, shrapnel and dirt flew freely through the air with its detonation, forcing her quickly roll to her side. Feeling a large amount of force impacting the shield on her back from the detonation, she forced herself to swiftly recover and reassess her situation.

Everything had gone all to hell, as the snipers she left in the tree line had begun open firing after the detonation from what was most probably a grenade, while whatever crew she brought with her were now duelling furiously with various officers. To her utter dismay, they had completely lost the initiative when they were outfoxed by the blonde captain and his team.

It was a risky fight to take when they were outnumbered, but the possibility of gaining a form of ground transport had been much too tempting to simply ignore after they'd found the small group. Nevertheless, they had little opportunity to retreat now. It was all or nothing.

Racing to return into the fray, her eyes moved quickly through the various skirmishes throughout the battlefield, searching for the blonde captain. If they were to survive this, they had to cut off the head or more preferably, incapacitate it. Death had always left a bitter taste in her mouth, regardless of her career choice.

She spotted Sun and Neptune a few times throughout the battle, the duo fighting rather desperately against a vicious blonde and a stoic ravenette, a deadly combination of dexterity and brute strength. Standing close by was Sage with his sword, respectably holding his own against a trio of combatants with seemingly reckless abandon, but the calculative glint she spotted in his eyes have always told her otherwise. His blade clashed heavily against a mountain of a man's battle-axe before shifting slightly to parry a massive war-hammer aimed at his head. Swiftly shifting Miló into a rifle mid-run, she shot a number of bursts into the fray, gaining him a moment of respite as his opponent's rolled out of the way to dodge. Sage shot her a grateful nod as he resettled his stance, readying himself for the impending bout. She rushed away shortly thereafter to return to her hunt, resolving to return and assist him as soon as she dealt with the captain.

However, her progress was immediately impeded by a swift sword thrust aimed directly at her forehead. Dodging swiftly to its side, she retained her momentum and harshly knocked it away in an attempt to disarm her opponent. However, to her greater surprise, the blade was not in attached to its wielder's hand as it merely clattered to the ground and simply raised itself up.

Following its flight, she found herself face to face with her opponent, a smiling ginger-haired woman with a conspicuous pink bow holding her ponytail, and to her unreserved dismay, surrounded by a plethora of floating mechanical swords. Her opponent waved at her and spoke politely, "Salutations, Ms. Nikos. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, Ms. …."

"Polendina, but friends call me Penny." A cheerful smile remained on her expression as her blades shifted to point towards Pyrrha.

"Well, Penny, could we perhaps do this another time?" Pyrrha spoke warily, raising Akuóu up to cover her abdomen.

She giggled at her response and smiled sadly, "I'm afraid not, Ms. Nikos. Perhaps in another life we could've been friends."

Chuckling dark, Pyrrha replied solemnly, "Maybe we'll find out someday." Lowering her centre of gravity, Pyrrha shifted her foot and rushed Penny with shield raised and sword at ready. It took only a moment to bridge the gap between them and she swung Miló for a horizontal slash, aiming for the woman's abdomen.

Contentment appeared in her gut as surprise momentarily shone in Penny's eyes at her display of agility, but it was quickly snuffed out as the woman matched her abilities with ease. Leaning backwards, Penny nimbly dodged her horizontal laceration and met the blade with one of her own. With a strong flick from her opponent, the move almost wrenched Miló directly out of her hand, forcing her to retreat and reset her stance.

However, she was given no quarter as Penny quickly pressed the advantage with a multitude of thrusts from her fleet of mechanical swords. They surrounded and mainly aimed for her joints intermittingly, ensuring a constant barrage of unpredictable attacks. Shifting her weight slightly, she swung her shield to knock the incoming blades away, while what was left was skilfully parried by her blade or slightly shifted by subtle uses of her semblance. She gritted her teeth in frustration as the swords merely returned to its wielder and restarted their assault.

Finding little advantage in staying on the defensive, Pyrrha knocked the incoming blades away and rushed towards Penny once again, swiftly closing in on her opponent. She unleashed a flurry of slices on the Atlesean, each barely scratching the woman's uniform as she nimbly dodged from side to side with relative ease. To her growing surprise, Penny ceased her movements and directly halted her blade with one of her own, this one actually held in her hand. For a moment, their blades pushed fiercely against one another, neither combatant willing to yield to the other.

Soon thereafter though, Penny broke the bind with a smile and shifted her weight to push Miló away. Once again, feeling her weapon almost wrenched out her own hands, Pyrrha spun circularly on her back heel and utilized the momentum in an attempt to slam her shield into her opponent.

Recognizing her intentions, Penny swiftly moved out of the way, just barely avoiding the full brunt of the strike. As she moved nimbly to gain some distance, she directed the swords surrounding her to restart their assault, now primarily aiming for her flanks and leg joints.

Gritting her teeth at the sudden shift of targets, she called upon more Aura to strengthen her body's natural defenses, shielding herself from whatever strike she could not dodge or block. As Aura flared around her body, feelings of frustration grew quickly in the pits of her gut at the seemingly endless barrage of sword strikes. Resolving herself, she once again rushed forward to meet the Atlesean.

The duo once again found themselves in close quarters with the other, as their respective weapons clashed viciously against the other, sparks flying wilding at every confrontation. Rather than a contest of strength, it was a deadly blade dance of dexterity and attrition.

She sent out a thrust, Penny parried the blow and countered. Blocking the counter with Akuóu, she pushed herself to deal a heavier strike at the woman's shoulder, one deftly held back by another of Penny's flying blades. Pyrrha continued her assault, utilizing every known combination of strikes, counters, slashes, and thrust in her arsenal, only for each to be halted and countered with mechanical perfection.

Finding little to no holes in the Atlesean's defenses, she slowly called upon more of her semblance. Initially, slightly altering the courses of incoming blades or strengthening her own actions, and now, stopping incoming blades midair or destroying them entirely, their duel had now grown to include both mind and soul.

She rushed once again with an upward slice of her blade, but it was again met with swift resistance, and most unfortunately, even swifter retribution. After her blade was parried once again, Pyrrha felt a precise kick impacting her gut, knocking the wind out of her and throwing her a good few metres away. Hitting the ground rather harshly, she rolled limply from the impact for another few metres. She coughed weakly in an attempt to right herself up from ground, easily finding the metallic taste of iron in her mouth.

At the corner of her sight, she could see black boots striding unwaveringly towards her. As her consciousness slowly slipped away from her grasps, she could scarcely register the dying sounds of battle and the words of a singular voice, "Under the authority vested in me by the Kingdom of Atlas, Captain Pyrrha Nikos, you are under arrest for your various crimes against the four kingdoms…" Soon thereafter, the comforts of darkness enveloped her.

* * *

 **AN: Well that was rather eventful, and before you scream at me for whatever happened in this chapter, let's talk about it shall we?  
**

 **1\. Penny is a difficult character to write in my opinion, but one that I really enjoy. In canon, she's essentially a child in terms of emotional age since we can obviously see that does not have regular friendly human interaction, so it is difficult to tell how she will mature. I had a bit of fun maturing Penny by a decade in this chapter, hoped you enjoyed it to some extent. If not, please tell me why and how I can improve upon this.**

 **2\. Pyrrha's plan seems a bit shoddy and somewhat of a convenient plot device you may say, and to that I say, you're probably right. However, I'd just like to say that she did not come into this with the plan of getting ambushed, she was supposed to ambush Jaune's team and take an FAV, that was her original plan but then Ruby (she's aware that Jaune would never just casually work with her at this point). Like they say, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. Moving on, her fight with Penny seemed a bit one-sided, well that's kind off the point there, Penny is a battle android that was able to match Pyrrha in canon with probably half of Pyrrha's battle experience with relative ease, given a decade of real-life combat, I wouldn't be surprised if she became virtually unbeatable in this case (at least until Pyrrha realizes that she can manipulate her entire being with her semblance, which she did not realize here).**

 **Well as usual, leave a review, whether good or bad. If you liked it, consider giving a follow or fav, and all in all, good day to you all.**


	11. Chapter 10: The Flop

**AN: Hello once again everyone, here's another chapter of my little story, hope you enjoy it thoroughly. However, before we get on with it, I have a few things I'd like to say to all of you readers. I'd like to thank you all for reading, and to each and everyone of you who left a review at my request or sent me a PM, I am incredibly grateful and am currently taking all of your words under consideration. If I have not already responded to you in a PM, I'll probably respond to you here (alongside all of the reviews for the last chapter):  
**

 **Chapter 9:**

 **Yukas:** Thank you, hope I continue to entertain.

 **Altair:** Hope I continue to overturn your expectations in a good way.

 **SoulfulBard:** X-men 2 is a great movie, and your words have always been a boon for this story.

 **Jkdelta38:** Let me be frank, JIM BUTCHER IS A GOD! Dresden Files, Codex Alera, and his new series, A.W., are all amazing.

 **ArytomXIII:** This wouldn't be an Arkos fic if they didn't, well at least a healthy one...

 **Dragonbinder:** Thanks, hope you continue to enjoy.

 **roting-CORPSE:** Thank you, and that is a great game. Hope they make a sequel or remastered version.

 **Announcement/Request:**

 **PatMaster: L** ike I said, I'm not planning to obsess over it, so no worries about the future of this fic (at least due to this reason). I'm looking forward to reading that story of yours.

 **goddy80119:** Thank you, hope you continue to do so.

 **conglomerate.k at:** Thank you, and I do on some point agree with you that the prologue is somewhat length, I'll keep in this mind if I ever choose to write other fics that have prologues.

 **Jayz21501:** Thank you for your input, very much appreciated.

 **Pure Infinity:** I believe you have a valid point, I'll keep this in mind whenever I take a look at the statistics. I'm rather new at this, so that is a rather interesting fact.

 **Lastchaos Darknoman:** Thank you for telling me about this, I'm rather surprised that the system works like this, but can't really say that it is unreasonable.

 **radar112495:** Thank you for the many compliments, hope I continue to live up to your expectations. I can understand why people don't always enjoy a slower build up to romance, especially for a more 'established' pairing.

 **Jemdeamon (Guest):** Thank you, but I can't really blame the community for a lack of interest, that more likely falls upon the author as an inability to garner a reader's interest. However, I'm truly grateful for the compliments.

 **Revanninja:** I can completely understand your point, perhaps I chose poorly, but only time will tell. I also totally agree with you on your last point, I tend to only full commit to a story after a certain amount of development.

 **kuya-taku:** Thank you, but failure to grab a reader's attention is a flaw of the author rather than of the community/reader, so I will nonetheless work towards averting that in the future.

 **Masternoj:** Like I've said above, JIM BUTCHER IS A GOD. That will be all. Thank you again for reading, hope you continue to enjoy.

 **Boy, that was a mouthful. If you sent me a PM, I probably have sent you one back with my gratitude enclosed within them. However, I'd like to say it again, thank you.**

 **In general, it seems that almost all of you vocalized that a rewrite is unnecessary, so I will comply and just continue writing onwards. However, in taking your words into consideration, I'm considering getting a beta to increase the overall quality of this fic (at least if it continues to grow steadily). I know one you has already spoken up, but if anyone else would also like to do so, send me a PM. With that in mind, on to the story.**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Flop**

* * *

 _"The easiest way to be cheated is to believe yourself to be more cunning than others."_

 _\- Pierre Charon_

"Hey, Sun…"

"Yeah, Neptune?"

"F*ck you." Neptune said hurriedly between dodges with weapon in hand.

"You wish, bud'," the blond Faunus snorted at him, "It's not even your birthday."

He paused and turned stiffly to face the blond, his left eye twitching wildly, "I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE, YOU-"

Interrupting him, however, was the harsh impact of a golden gauntlet on his face. Although his Aura remained active during the hit, preventing a majority of the damage, the force nonetheless propelled him back several metres. Grunting from impacting the ground, he kicked himself up and recovered quickly, dashing forward to return to the fray and assist his blond partner.

Shifting the guandao in his hand into a familiar rifle, he quickly fired a burst at the ravenette flanking Sun, buying the blond some much needed room to retreat and regroup. Arriving swiftly beside him, Sun mumbled out a word of thanks in between heavy pants, to which he merely grunted nonchalantly in response. It wasn't the first time he'd saved his best friend from being killed by the long list of people he'd inopportunely pissed off by a rather creative variety of methods, a list that he had ironically added himself onto at the moment. If anybody was going to kill the blond, it might as well be him; he certainly deserved it considering the amount of problems Sun caused him on a daily basis.

Finding another fist quickly approaching his face, he instinctively backpedalled out of range and shifted his weapon into his signature trident. Finding an opportunity in the blond brawler's overextension, he locked her gauntlet in between the gaps of his trident and pulled, quickly unbalancing her. With a quick spin, he utilized the momentum to launch the brawler into his partner, who received her with a small smile on his expression.

Combining Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang together, Sun swung the staff horizontally and impacted the blond's stomach, returning her towards her partner. The ravenette received her partner rather gracefully, utilizing an acrobatic flip to distribute the force of her flight and allowing both to land safely.

The blond looked absolutely livid at this point, golden Aura flaring wildly around her as her lilac eyes turned scarlet. He gulped loudly at the sight, tightening his grip around his weapon. To his surprise however, it was the ravenette rather than the blond who struck first.

Her speed was almost unreal as his eyes could barely keep up with her, but it was her semblance that truly confounded him. The woman dashed towards him almost haphazardly, utilizing a variety of acrobatic techniques and incredible footwork to misdirect and elude him, compounded only by the fact that she regularly left clones behind each time she switched directions. It was incredibly difficult to predict any of her movements, a necessary skill unfortunately necessary to take full advantage of the longer reach his trident and guandao possessed.

Suppressing the growing emotion of panic within him, he shifted his stance defensively and began striking, carefully minimizing the possibility of overextending. Each thrust of his weapon quickly disintegrated the growing number of clones surrounding him, but to his utter dismay, she could create them much faster than he could destroy them. Frustration quickly growing within him at his rather tedious prospects, he returned the trident into its guandao form and began swinging. The clones surrounding him began to quickly disappear once again, the weapon's horizontal swings being much more efficient in culling them.

Nevertheless, the proprietor of them remained elusive as he continued his assault, moving steadily closer towards his partner. Quickening his pace, he hastened his swings and increased their regularity, utilizing his Aura to enhance his speed. Then at the corner of his eyes, he could spot a subtle streak of black in between the clones. He smiled inwardly at the sight, whether it was a steady loss of speed from Aura exhaustion or the fact that his eyes were adapting to his opponent's capabilities were currently not his concern, but he was thankful for the opportunity nonetheless. He hastily extended towards it for a quick thrust, aiming to end the battle with a single blow.

Yet to his surprise and frustration, the tip of his blade met nothing but another hollow construct. Attempting to pull back his weapon and resume his systematic assault, his eyes widened quickly at the realization of his rather precarious stance. He had lunged forward for the attack, and he was not alone in this realization.

The ravenette emerged from shadows with a leg sweep, immediately unbalancing him as he fell backwards. Landing on his back, he quickly sought to recover and counter the blow with his weapon, only to find a blade already pressed perilously on his neck.

He turned slightly in hopes of finding his partner rushing to aid, but disappointment quickly overtook him as he winced at the sight of his best friend taking a brutal left hook to the gut.

Returning to meet the amber eyes warily watching over him, he meekly released his grip on the weapon beside him and raised his hands up in surrender. He inwardly sighed, praying to Oum that prison had hot water.

* * *

With a roar, Sage rushed forward to meet the hammer-wielding maiden before him. Their weapons clashed once more in a flurry of sparks and aggression, as every bit of force behind their melee could be sorely felt by either combatant. Feeling the strength in his arms quickly draining, he begrudgingly broke the clash with a heavy swing of his blade and quickly retreated to gain some ground.

Frustration and fatigue ran rampant within his mind as he warily eyed his opponent across from him. It had taken quite a lot out of him to bring a 2-on-1 fight down to equal footing, but the consequences were rather evident by his condition. The blade in his hand steadily grew heavier with every second, his vision blurred momentarily in between tired gasps, while his entire body felt sluggish and unresponsive. Resetting his stance, he pulled up his blade once again and exhaled, pulling whatever Aura he could spare to suppress the growing protests of his body.

Directing Aura into the balls of his feet, he methodically shifted his weight and readied himself. Discharging the collected reserve of Aura, he closed the gap between his opponent and him with a breathtaking burst of speed in the blink of an eye. He swung his blade horizontally at the woman, utilizing the force that propelled his speed to strengthen the weight behind his slash.

To his surprise, however, his blade met thin air as the woman ducked; crouching on one knee, she pulled her hammer back and smiled. Soon thereafter, he felt the cold steel of her hammer impacting his chest with a ludicrous amount of force. He winced at the growing pain in his chest as he was launched upwards. The blow had possibly fractured his ribcage, and to his utter dismay, it could only get worse from here.

Flying through the air, the woman gave him no respite as she leaped and chased after him, swinging her hammer in a downwards arc. He grimaced as the hammer flew towards him and instinctively brought up his blade to mitigate whatever damage he could. The blow was heavy and incredibly fast, propelled by its instigator's strength, alongside gravity itself. It felt as if his arms were going to be ripped out of its sockets as he blocked the seemingly insurmountable force that accelerated his descent.

Nevertheless, even if he had succeeded in preventing every bone in his body from being shattered momentarily, with Aura levels at an all-time low, he was most probably not going to survive the impending impact with the ground. Gritting his teeth, he flipped and spread his arms outwardly, maximizing his surface area (and in turn his drag force) as he faced the ground below him. He flared his Aura, concentrating it to protect his front, while praying to Oum that Scarlet's offhanded lessons about aerodynamics had given him a chance to survive.

As he met the ground with a brave smile, he could feel the earth shifting beneath his weight and growing outwardly in a transfer of force. Soon thereafter, feeling no other change in his surroundings, he groggily raised himself up, utilizing his sword as a makeshift cane. He now found himself at the centre of a newly-formed crater, smiling inwardly at the fact that he was not in fact dead, but grimacing outwardly at the sight of who was waiting for him at the edge of it, his ever-smiling hammer-wielding opponent.

He raised his sword up once again to meet her in combat, but immediately faltered when she shook her and walked closer towards him. She remained wary, but the manner of her actions was much less antagonistic.

"Let's stop this." She said tiredly with a sigh.

"Wha-"

"Look, we'll guarantee you all a fair trial, and if you surrender willingly, we can even work out a lighter sentence."

He could scarcely comprehend the words coming out of her mouth. Shock and frustration spilled out of him as he snarled, "Trial, surrender, sentence, what the hell are you talking about?"

Then time seemed to stop for him when she answered, "We have your captain in custody."

"What…" The word was all he could muster as his heart fell harshly, despair quickly growing within the pit of his stomach. Then despair quickly turned into disbelief, and in turn, anger. "You're lying, Atlesean dog."

Her eyes widened slightly at the title, and although they noticeably grew darker, she nonetheless remained calm. "Look around you, your ambush has failed and your comrades arrested by the second. You're barely able to stand up, let alone wield a weapon, so please surrender." She emphasized her words pleadingly, but it only served to fuel his frustrations.

"SHUT UP! MY CAPTAIN IS INDOMITABLE! SHE IS UNFALLABLE!" He roared as he rushed towards her, infusing his Aura with anger. It flared wildly around him, dulling the pain of his injuries and empowering him with renewed vigour.

Forgoing his better judgement, he allowed instincts and emotion to guide him. Throwing his full weight behind each blow, he attacked relentlessly as he swung wildly from a myriad of directions. Their weapons clashed repeatedly within the range of crater, each exchange deadlier and more desperate than the last.

"SHE IS THE GODDESS OF VICTORY, AND THE GODDESS SHALL NOT FALL AS LONG AS I BREATHE!" He snarled, swinging his blade further back for a heavier strike. Their weapons clashed once again, Aura flaring wildly between them as the ground beneath them shattered from their exchange.

"STAND DOWN ALREADY!" She relented slightly and utilized his uncontrolled momentum to unbalance him. The woman moved deftly out of the arc of his swing, and swung her hammer horizontally. He could hear his bones crack as the hammer's head impacted his knee; it took everything he had to not scream out as the following pain assaulted his mind, forcing him to buckle.

"Stand down…" She pleaded tiredly.

"Never…"

"Why?"

He lifted his head to meet her eyes, surprised to find nothing but empathy within their depths. "It is neither by loyalty nor faith that I follow her, but it is because I owe everything to her… I would forever be a slave if not for her," he pushed himself up with the help of his blade, wincing slightly at dullness he felt in his left knee, "and Ms. Nikos will not fall as long as I breathe."

But he never made it up before oblivion took him, as the indistinguishable sensation of a fist within his gut ferried him across, while her words served as his lullaby, "I understand. You're a good man…"

* * *

"Dammit, can we get anything from the captain?" Scarlet snarled over the bridge.

"No, sir! Nobody is in the vicinity of the bullhead and we are out of range for comms."

"Well, move closer then!"

"But sir-" The man stopped dead in his tracks as he met Scarlet's eyes, worry and frustration clearly evident within them.

"Set course for the island, we're moving out!"

"SIR YES-" Interrupting the entirety of the crew, however, was an explosion that rocked the ship to its core, as alarms blared soon thereafter.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Scarlet yelled over the chaos ensuing around him.

"Sir, we have an incoming call."

"WELL, WHO IS IT?" He turned swiftly to face the officer, urging him to hurriedly answer before the situation descended further into chaos. But before he could answer though, the bridge was silenced by the appearance of a single man on screen.

"Hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," the man hummed flippantly, twirling a white cane nonchalantly around his right wrist, "it's good to see each and every one of your darling faces."

Scarlet visibly grimaced at the man's appearance, an action that did not go unnoticed by the man in question. He smirked at the display, pulling out a cigar out from his breast pocket and lighting it. "Ah, Scarlet, how's one of my favourite fashionistas been doing?"

"Torchwick," he spat through gritted teeth, "what do you want?"

The man merely grew amused at the question, as if the answer should've been obvious for all to see. On screen, he stood up from his chair and straightened his signature white jacket, before dramatically donning his bowler hat with a cruel smile. "Why Scarlet, you're all nothing more than a happy addition to my current agenda, but you know full well what I want from you," he paused melodramatically as he released a puff a smoke from his cigar, "I want my flagship back, alongside all of your traitorous heads."

* * *

 **AN: Lots of things happening, too little time. Anyways, hope you enjoyed all of it, but as usual there are things we must discuss:  
**

 **1\. Sage's backstory is steadily revealed throughout his fight with Nora, hope you enjoyed the development of his characterization. I'll let you decide whether he meant 'slave' literally or metaphorically for the time being.**

 **2\. We found Torchwick, yay! Hope he's what you expected him to be. To be quite honest, he as a sky pirate would not be too different from what he acts like in canon, so I hope I did him justice.**

 **Oh and a notice, I have summer semester exams next week, so no update (sorry), and probably why this chapter was shorter than usual (sorry again).**

 **Aside from the menial things in life, hope you enjoyed. If you have something to say, leave a review. If you liked it, consider a fav or follow. Thanks again for reading, good day to you all.**


	12. Chapter 11: Raise

**Review responses:**

 **Dragonbinder:** Thank you, hope you continue to think so.

 **goddy80119:** Torchwick owns a pirate fleet, Pyrrha and co. used to be his subordinates. More on this later.

 **Jkdelta38:** Thank you.

 **Yukas:** Neo will make an appearance, yelling is always cathartic.

 **Foreteller of Three:** I can't really deny that, I already explained that I had exams and have already apologized. Albeit, it did cover everything that I wanted the chapter to do. I can only try to make sure that other chapters won't be as short.

 **authorofthefall:** Believe it or not, I also watched Storm hawks as a kid. Thank you for your kind words, and I hope to continue to entertain and meet your expectations.

 **AN: Hello, sorry but I totally missed by usual upload day. I had difficulty writing it due to a number of things, but I hope it is nonetheless up to your satisfaction. I may come back to rewrite this one day, just because I may have a better grasp of emotions in the future. Other than that, enjoy.  
**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Raise**

* * *

" _Adventure without risk is Disneyland."_

 _\- Douglas Coupland_

There were very few things that left a more bitter taste in Jaune's mouth than dealing with prisoners, especially the notorious ones. Shaking his head with a sigh, he once again returned to his thoughts, being relatively clueless on how to proceed with their mission in the presence of such a volatile variable. Opting to calm his current state of disarray, he chose to silently observe the group's current state, oddly fascinated by the diversity present with their ranks.

They were a rather disorderly bunch, sporting a rather grand selection of clothing and armour from a myriad of locales with no common theme between them. In addition, the wide spectrum of injuries from the preceding skirmish only seemed to compound his previous observation. Nevertheless, they all wore similar expressions of concern and sheer fury for their currently missing captain, displaying a surprising amount of unadulterated loyalty and care for a band of hardy pirates. Their very existence contrasted heavily with the methodology, principle, and uniform nature of the Atlesean navy, yet he could nonetheless find the same brand of loyalty and dedication that he often found in the eyes of many of his own crew. The sight conceived a rather odd mix of emotions within him, a confounding blend of relief and aggravation, and hence the dilemma growing egregiously in the recesses of his mind. It had become increasingly difficult to simply dismiss them as meagre criminals, and he found himself confounded even further by thoughts of the seemingly capricious and incredibly fierce redhead that led them.

She was a wonderfully odd mix of awe and terror in his eyes, something equivocally close to a force of nature that simply swept up everything in her path. She was charismatic, shrewd, and cunning to a remarkable degree, matched only by her proficiency and lethality in combat. The woman truly embodied every aspect of a 'Goddess of Victory'.

Yet, he found it impossible to dismiss her as such. Even during their brief and rather desperate time of cooperation, he found himself involuntarily drawn to her vivid emerald eyes. They seemed ironically fragile, veiling an innumerable number of riddles and burdens that seemed uncharacteristic for a mere pirate captain, especially one so seemingly whimsical in their interactions.

Luckily for him, or unluckily depending on his mood, he now had the opportunity to converse with the woman in question. To either affirm his inklings or shatter them entirely. He grimaced internally at the thought, frustrated at the inadvertent possibility that his curiosity would lead to more questions rather than answers, worsening the metaphorical storm brewing within him.

Leaving the prisoners in Nora's care, he allowed his legs to guide him towards the rudimentary medical tent they had set up. Upon entering, his senses were assailed by the distinctive aftermath of bloody combat. He strained himself to avoid averting away from the grisly sight of various wounds undergoing treatment before him, committing the faces of their owners, alongside their wounds, to memory. He had made it a habit since his first day as a captain to know the limitations and statuses of the people around him, whether friend or foe. Most attributed it to his kinder nature, but he was personally well-aware that he did it for a much more tactical motive.

He solemnly continued onwards in search of a singular person, grimacing internally at the occasional sounds of aggrieved wounded around him. Finding an assortment of fiery scarlet at the corner of his vision, he found the woman in question sitting upon a cot as Penny carefully bandaged her wounds. On closer inspection, Pyrrha's arms remained unrestrained for the benefit of her caretaker, but her right leg was adorned with a large ebony anklet that blinked red occasionally.

"You're a rather generous person, captain. Nevertheless, I'm not exactly fond of most forms of jewellery. In addition, the colour's all wrong." Pyrrha spoke sardonically with a smirk, apparently noticing him long before he did her.

He grunted tiredly in response, more interested in what laid hidden behind her banter. At first glance, the pirate captain appeared infallible, but the minute details of her condition proved otherwise. Her shoulders were slightly slumped, and the fire behind her eyes seemed subtly tamer. While her breathing remained only slightly hitched, she was evidently exhausted, but few would be able to tell.

"The anklet will prevent your escape with ease, as I'm sure Penny has explained already-"

"Actually captain, I have not…" Penny interjected softly.

Stifling his embarrassment over his presumptuous presumption, Jaune cleared his throat and swiftly amended his words, "As Penny will now explain to you."

The Atlesean officer expressed a polite smile and readily complied. "Of course, captain. As you can see Captain Nikos, the anklet has been activated since you began your 'stay' with us. It essentially functions as a tracking device and allows you free range of motion within a certain radius from this." She pointed to a matching bracelet on her wrist. "Currently the range is set to 30 metres and it would be in your best interest that you stay within it, as the consequences can be rather dire. If you move out of this range, we will be immediately alerted of your transgression, alongside the fact that a painful electric shock will be transmitted automatically. It will not cause any permanent harm, but be well-aware that it will be rather effective in preventing your escape. However, if you move more than 30 metres away from your boundaries, the following electric shock will be lethal."

She paused temporarily to let her words be mulled over by the two captains, before displaying another small smile as she continued, "Do not worry though; the anklet will automatically emit a shrill warning signal if you are ever approaching the boundary of your permitted range, so rest assured that you will always be aware of your limitations." Penny shook her head and smiled sadly at this statement, a subtle act that temporarily confounded the duo. But before the detail could pressed, she continued her explanation, "In addition, if at any time you attempt to remove the anklet by force for any reason, whether through the use of your semblance or any sort of tools, the consequences will be much, much grimmer. Aside from that, are there any questions, Ms. Nikos?"

Pyrrha remained silent for some time, eyes completely drawn to the accessory that now adorned her ankle. Letting out a sigh, she now turned upwards to meet both Atleseans in the eye, a mix of curiosity and subdued fury evident on her expression. "Why the anklet? Why the risk? And what about my crew?"

Penny displayed a small smile and spoke almost amusedly, "I believe the captain here will be much better equipped to answer your questions." She turned to face the blond in question and whispered, "If you need me, I'll be nearby."

Sharing a nod with his former partner, he watched her walk towards another set of combatants who needed her attention before turning to face the source of his current dilemma. He paused momentarily to mull over the words at the tip of his tongue, ensuring that he'd leave little chance for any sort of misunderstandings. However, just as he opened his mouth to speak, he was silenced prematurely by the hurried words of the redhead before him.

"The rest of my crew will be looking for me." She stated plainly.

He narrowed his eyes at her, searching for the intent behind her words. "I am well aware."

"They won't stop."

"I am well aware."

She sighed sadly and continued, "They will fall before a sheer numbers advantage," she paused and met his eyes with stoic resolve, "but they will not be alone."

Fury seemed to bubble up within him, not at the blatant use of her crew's loyalty itself, but at the ostensible callousness seemingly behind it. He brought his face to her level as she remained seated on the cot, their foreheads separated only by the length of their respective noses. "You dare to use the weight of many lives for the sake of yours? The lives of both my crew and yours, gone in an instant at the snap of your fingers?"

At his words, the resolve behind her eyes soured into unbridled fury. She gritted her teeth and snarled at him, "Do not dare accuse me of such travesties. I would proudly die one hundred times over before I voluntarily allow the blood of any of my crew to be spilled so carelessly."

He softened immensely at her rather proud declaration, but nonetheless remained wary. "Then, what are your oh so noble intentions, Captain Nikos?"

A pregnant pause followed after his question, interrupted finally by a pensive sigh from the redhead. "I wish to bargain for them."

"How?"

Resolve once again returned to her eyes, immeasurable strength subtly evident within her expression. "They will not stop," she paused momentarily and sighed pensively, "at least, until I say otherwise. If you will let the entirety of my crew go free, including those you have captured here today, I will order their retreat and go quietly of my own free will. Do we have a deal?"

* * *

Pyrrha could scarcely contain her surprise or her anger when the blond before her began laughing merrily. If she was anyone else, and if she was anywhere else, a righteous right hook would've been unleashed on the man's gut. Instead, she opted to merely frown at the audacious display.

It took only a brief moment for Jaune to recover, but her mood had already soured beyond belief by that point. A fact that must have been rather evident on her expression, if the speed in which he returned to stoic seriousness served was an accurate indicator. "I apologise for the outburst, but you are by far the most unique individual I have ever dealt with. No other person in your position would even consider such a thing."

She smirked tiredly at his words, accepting them as a rather discreet compliment. "So, I assume we have a deal?"

"It is within the realm of possibility, but I would like to know why?"

She turned to face him once again, mesmerized by the seemingly endless amount of curiosity and interest within his ocean-blue eyes. The sight silenced her, stirring equal amounts of embarrassment and fascination, which were quickly stifled by her better judgement. With a pensive sigh, she once again pressed onwards, "These people are the only people left on Remnant whom I consider family, and I would do anything to keep them safe. It is a true captain's role to do so. And if this is what fate has in store for the choices I've made, then I will contentedly accept my destiny."

He expressed a somewhat sad smile at her response, but nonetheless accepted it, much to her relief. "We have a deal then, Pyrrha. I give you my word that your crew will remain free, if you surrender willingly and without fuss." As elated as she was to receive a straight answer, she desired a formal confirmation.

"Will you guarantee that our deal will be honoured in full? Swear it upon your honour as a captain?"

He smiled at her question, as if its answer should've been obvious. "I will, and an Arc never goes back on his word."

She was captivated by the empathy and softness of his voice, but resolved to remain stoic at the behest of her better judgment. "If you make contact with the ship, the phrase, 'For it is in passing that we achieve immortality', should placate them."

Although evidently curious over the significance of the phrase, she was incredibly grateful that he had chosen to not pursue it. The phrase was no secret code or subtle plan, quite the opposite really. It was simply a preconceived goodbye. Pausing briefly, she released a grateful sigh and spoke quietly, voice barely above a whisper, "Thank you."

Whether he truly understood the significance of his actions (or lack of action), he gave no indication of it, instead choosing to simply continue their conversation. "The feeling is mutual, Pyrrha. After all, lives have been spared today," his tone now perceptibly more sombre, "but we still have much to discuss."

She smiled satirically at the accessory and mused audibly, "The anklet?"

"The anklet." He echoed back solemnly.

"Whose idea was it?"

"Penny's."

She couldn't contain the surprise growing within her, as incredulousness leaked into her voice, "Ms. Polendina's?"

"Surprised, huh?" He chuckled good-naturedly at her response. "Most of the people here wanted to see you arrested immediately, regardless of the consequences, but she convinced most of us otherwise." She was surprised, but remained silent at the revelation and wordlessly urged him to continue. "I had inklings that you were much more than a simple pirate, considering our prior stint of cooperation. Nevertheless, my sense of duty remained stout," he paused momentarily, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, "at least initially. Penny recounted her skirmish with you in surprisingly vivid detail, asserting that her victory came at your decision to avoid lethal manoeuvres."

She internally gaped at the questionable truth that Penny had recounted on her behalf. Rather than a conscious decision, it was the fact that she was unable to utilize lethal manoeuvres in her duel. The woman had effortlessly bested her, no matter what she had attempted to do. Perhaps it was arrogance that caused her to recount the tale as she did, but considering the brief interaction Pyrrha had with the Atlesean officer, it seemed incredibly unlikely. Resolving to investigate the discreet 'white lie' at a later date, she stored the topic in the recesses of her mind and opted to remain silent.

Interpreting her silence as his cue to continue, Jaune's gaze fell onto her anklet, "Considering the fact that no deaths have been accounted for on either side, albeit there are those who have come close, we have decided to temporarily assess your behaviour. The anklet itself and Penny's witness are testaments of your better nature, but for your benefit under the judicial system, take this as an opportunity to _prove_ that you are more than a common criminal." She opened her mouth to interrupt, but was pacified immediately when he calmly raised his hand.

"You have already _told_ me that you are more than what the world sees you as, and on some level, you have already done so during our brief stint of cooperation against the Leviathan. However, this is your opportunity to prove yourself to people that may be your lifelines in court. It would not be the first time that 'privateers' have been pardoned of their crimes on the guarantee that they serve time within the naval forces, especially in a kingdom such as Atlas." He paused once again, biting his bottom lip in contemplation. Opening his mouth once again, the words that followed came with a surprising amount of compassion, "Penny is a surprising good judge of character for who she is, and if what you've decided to do today for the behalf of your crew, at your expense no less, is a good indicator of your overall personality, I would happily testify for your pardon. So please, do not prove us wrong."

With a final sigh, the blond straightened himself and walked away from her cot, leaving her with the familiar sound of silence. As the final echoes of receding steel boots reached her ears, she turned away from the world and reclined on the cot. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she hugged herself and reminisced. As the faces of those she considered family flashed within her mind, she recalled their smiles, their unique tells, their diverse likes and dislikes. She silently giggled at the memories of her rowdy mentors and the mischievous smiles hidden underneath their grumpier exteriors, and in between, contently cringing at the bizarre interactions of her even rowdier siblings. They were all bound together by everything and anything but blood, but it was all they have ever needed, or would ever need.

As the memories once again faded away into the recesses of her mind, she began to sob. She sobbed, and sobbed, but no sound would ever escape her lips, for she was the 'Goddess of Victory' and she would happily fall for those she loved.

* * *

Although immensely annoyed at the sudden end of their communication feed with Torchwick, their impending situation deserved a much larger portion of Scarlet's attention. On the horizon, the crew had sported a small fleet of five ships, two of which were of the same class as the 'Achilles', but it was far from the most worrying aspect for their future. Looming formidably at the centre of their formation was a silver coloured Titan-class battleship. Its discerning characteristic being the twisted orange smile of a jack-o-lantern donned on its port bow, serving as the flamboyant pirate's insignia.

The battleship was approximately 270.3 metres long, 32.97 metres wide at its centre, and possibly carried more guns than all the other ships combined to his incredulous dismay. It carried nine 406mm heavy dust artilleries (grouped into groups of three), ten 127 mm single-fire dust cannons, and four 20 mm rapid-fire armour piercers, notwithstanding the six torpedo launchers than decorated its bow. Upon closer inspection, the ship in its entirety was loosely reminiscent of a shark, with the bridge serving as its dorsal fin, while the cross-shaped formation of its main and secondary engines at the stern represented its tail. Although it was an incredibly rough representation of the now rare aquatic species, it nevertheless induced a similar sense of wonderment and fear.

Torchwick was a conniving and slithery bastard, preferring to remain under the direct radar of the various governments, hence the reason he left them alone on most days. But here in uncharted territory, they were open game. Scarlet swore to himself at their prospects of survival, but nonetheless remained outwardly stalwart.

Turning to face the crew of the bridge directly, he began shouting orders, "Helmsmen, get us to the island at full speed! The rest of you try to get into contact with the captain, try every communication channel we can know or can find, there's probably something on that island that Torchwick wants and we'll be damned if we'll ever give it to him. If we cannot rendezvous with her, we are leading those sorry bastards away from her, do I make myself clear?"

"SIR, YES SIR!" The crew responded with vigour, but the underlying twinge of anxiety could nonetheless be heard within them all.

Tapping a few commands into his console, he connected the bridge to the rest of the crew, "TO ALL AVAILABLE CREW, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF ELUDING TORCHWICK! I REPEAT, ROMAN TORCHWICK!" He paused for a moment and sighed, "SO IF YOU VALUE YOUR SORRY ASSESS, GET INTO A BATTLE STATIONS. DROP MINES, FIRE SHELLS, ANYTHING TO SLOW DOWN THEIR PURSUIT! WE ARE THE CREW OF THE 'GODDESS OF VICTORY', AND WE SHALL ACT AS SUCH, LEST WE BRING DISHONOR TO HER NAME!" Confirming roars erupted from every corner of the ship, and he prayed that it would be enough to keep them afloat.

* * *

" _ **This is Captain Jaune Arc, Ren do you copy?"**_

Fiddling with the console before him, Ren transferred the incoming signal into the main screen of the bridge. Appearing on said screen was the familiar blond in question, who seemed significantly more ragged than the last time they saw him a few hours ago. Now standing up, he affirmed his presence with a small wave.

 _ **"Good to see you, Ren. Anything important I should be informed about?"**_ The image blurred and lagged occasionally due to the relative instability of the connection, but the audio remained steadfast much to the lieutenant's relief.

"Captain Soleil has recently informed us that she released a number of drones to survey the surrounding area, including a number of cave entrances spotted on the cliff at the west side of the island." He ensured that his reply remained neutral, albeit in reality, he had mixed emotions about the other Atlesean captain and her actions.

The blond sighed outwardly, but his eyes sharpened immensely at the news. _**"I've been informed by Penny that this was her intended course of action, albeit I am nonetheless annoyed by the lack of communication on her end."**_ Jaune paused for a moment and bit the bottom of his lip, an action that Ren cringed internally. Although incredibly minute, it had always been the blond's tell whenever a situation devolved into something more 'questionable'. _**"We have a bit of a situation on the island… We weren't alone here."**_

Ren's eyes widened slightly at the rather surprising update, piquing his curiosity and affirming his growing sense of worry. "Sir?"

 _ **"We've encountered Captain Pyrrha Nikos and her crew. They are currently in our custody and have claimed that their presence was entirely explorative in nature. Considering the evidence, we have chosen to believe them, at least for now."**_ Jaune announced sombrely.

He could scarcely prevent his jaw from dropping to the floor, yet his stoic façade had somehow remained resolute. "Shall we hunt down her ship then?"

 **"** _ **No, we've come to an understanding with the captain."**_ Jaune sighed expressively onscreen. _**"The gist of it is that she will surrender quietly without a fight, if we allow the rest of her crew to go free. Before you say anything, this is the only method that she agreed to that will minimize bloodshed for all of us; and considering our main mission, I believe that it will suffice. Please search for her ship and make contact, the phrase 'For it is in passing that we achieve immortality' should convince them to listen to you. From there, we'll return them their bullhead, alongside the rest of her crew. Any questions?"**_

Feeling his mouth go dry, he turned to rest of the bridge and searched any semblance of dissent, finding only accepting silence in return. With a nod, he returned his attention to screen and shook his head at the captain's question.

" _ **I understand that this is an incredibly unique situation, and I wish you all luck. Captain Jaune Arc signing off."**_

Sighing exasperatedly, he returned to addressing the rest of the bridge. He expressed orders with concise nods and finger gestures, contrasting greatly with the expressive shouting that his blond leader preferred. After all, they all had much to think about now.

* * *

"Captain, they've begun dropping mines and returning fire." A man called out from the bridge.

"Well clear them out, but keep the ship in sight and remain in pursuit." He leisurely ordered from his chair. Finding the lack of a cigar in his mouth rather discomforting, he took the moment to reach into his pocket for another.

Finding one, Roman nonchalantly proceeded to reach for the lighter supposedly beside him. But to his irritated surprise, his hand met nothing but air. Resignedly turning his head to actually look for the blasted thing, he instead found an impish little note written in well-practiced cursive in its place, ' _Smoking is bad for your health_ '. Rolling his eyes at the well-repeated message, he muttered sardonically, "Dammit Neo. Cheeky girl took my lighter to the island."

* * *

 **AN: Two things: firstly, we've reached over a hundred favorites thanks to all of you wonderful readers, yay! Secondly, I am currently talking to somebody about getting a Beta, we'll see. If all goes well, they'll introduce themselves next chapter. Now on to some things:**

 **1) I have difficulty expressing emotions, so this is a concept that I may have not done well in this chapter. If you have anything to say at all, good or bad, please leave a review!**

 **2) Penny lied, this is plot point. Have fun guessing.**

 **3) The anklet and judicial system. The judicial system of this version of Remnant is mostly similar to what we have today in most countries, however, it may be more lenient in some circumstances. My thought process is considering the fact that population is as small as it is considering the Grimm and rather precarious nature of the Spires, every person and their ability to contribute to society is considered rather precious, especially one as talented/powerful as Pyrrha, you've seen how useful she could be in the military. The anklet is actually inspired by an American Crime-Drama show called 'White Collar', it tells of a former con artist turned Criminal informant, he helps the FBI under the condition that he wears the anklet as his 'leash'. Incredible show, watch it if you have an interest in it.  
**

 **That's about it I suppose, hope you enjoyed. As usual, if you liked it, consider a follow or fav, and if you anything to say, good or bad, leave a review. Thanks for reading, good day to you all.**


	13. Chapter 12: The Turn

**AN: Hello, hello everyone, have a new chapter hope you enjoy. I'm going on a trip for the next three weeks, but will still work on new chapters. Reviews are always appreciated.  
**

 **Reviews responses:**

 **Solvradge:** Thanks for the kind words, hope you continue to enjoy reading.

 **goddy80119:** We'll see Neo next chapter, we'll have a lot more Pyrrha and Jaune now.

 **Yukas:** Always be free to leave reviews and ask questions.

 **SoulfulBard:** Thanks for helping me out again Soulful, hope you enjoy another chapter.

 **JKdelta38:** Many thanks, hope you enjoy another chapter.

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: The Turn**

* * *

" _The only way to make sense of the world is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."_

 _\- Alan Watts_

Emerging from the medical tent, Jaune quickly shielded his eyes from the sudden influx of light. Squinting, he began to observe the moving clouds above him, aptly heavy and grey for the situation. Finally readjusting his sight to the outdoors, he strode forward to readdress the particular 'recipients' of his latest arrangement.

It wasn't the first compromise he'd ever agreed upon, and he doubted that it would be his last, but it was far from his worst. They had deferred death today, temporarily of course, but it was nevertheless a relief. Hastening his pace, his mind once again descended into an orderly chaos of wayward thoughts.

His interactions with the redheaded pirate had been, for the lack of a better word, 'enlightening'. From what little he had seen, she was indubitably loyal and ironically valiant, a questionable heroine among thieves, or pirates to be exact. Nevertheless, they were still far too many inconsistencies. Her persona, her actions, her history, all of it left too many questions unanswered, and in turn, a deficient amount of reasons to trust her. Yet, Penny had done so, and he soon followed after. Furthermore, for whatever madness had possessed him in the moment, he had also given her his word, the highest form of propriety for any Arc. Pyrrha Nikos was an enigma, and everything in him screamed to uncover whatever remained hidden behind her emerald eyes and civil smile.

Feeling the oncoming chill of an emergent gust on his face, he tightened the collar of his jacket and further hastened his pace, storing away the remainder of his wayward thoughts for another day. He grimaced deeply at the darkening clouds above him, for the winds had now soured gravely, and that was never a good omen.

* * *

 _ **"Xiao Long, Belladonna, do you copy?"**_

Acknowledging the growing buzz in her ears, Yang brought a quick finger to the receiver on her ear. _**"We read you loud and clear cap'."**_

 _ **"Good, how's the Bullhead looking?"**_ Jaune spoke tiredly, voice somewhat ragged over the link. Although not knowing the male blond for long, she could easily sympathise with him. Notwithstanding the recent addition of their swashbuckling friend, even she admitted that they were a rather handful group to lead.

Turning to face her partner, she raised a questioning eyebrow at her. Receiving a small affirming nod in return, alongside some subtle gestures, she once again brought a hand to her receiver and replied, _**"The base hardware is standard Mistrali military-issued, but Blake's signing that it's got some impressive upgrades,"**_ she paused momentarily to interpret the additional gestures of her partner and released an impressed whistle, _**"some really, really nice upgrades."**_

The link went silent for a moment, and she contemplated repeating the message to ensure that he had heard her, if not for the exasperated sigh that soon thereafter. _**"Signing?"**_

She chuckled good-naturedly at the surprisingly common question. _**"Blake's not much of a talker…"**_

 _ **"I see…"**_ He replied uncertainly, before quickly returning to a more serious demeanour. _**"Is it pilotable though?"**_

 _ **"I think that's a better question for the elusive kitty herself."**_ Emphasizing the title with an abundance of mirth, much to the dismay of her partner, she strode over to the ravenette and removed the earpiece from her ear. "I still don't get why you don't carry your own, Blake.

"I have two pairs of ears, Yang, so you can imagine just how disorientating it would be. I'll do it if it's absolutely necessary," she smirked amusedly at the blond brawler, "but then we wouldn't have an excuse to keep you around, would we?"

Rolling her eyes at the blatant use of sarcasm, she tossed the receiver towards Blake and made herself comfortable at the opened door of the Bullhead in the process. With an amused smirk, Yang watched the feline Faunus as she gingerly placed the small device in her ear. "Belladonna here, the Bullhead's locked with a fingerprint scanner, but I'll be able to override it within the hour."

Now only hearing the muffled fragments of conversation with her superior, she lost interest quickly and instead turned her attention to the forest before her. No matter how many times the fiery blond had stared into its depths, the feelings of curious fascination refused to leave her. It was true that the sight of green vegetation was a rather common one for the residents of the Valean spires, but for whatever reason, the forest here seemed different to the blond. She couldn't place an exact finger on whatever it was, only a vague inclination or an obscure feeling. The place seemed to call out to her, beckoning her to explore its every nook and cranny. It was incredibly unnerving to be influenced by something so obscure, but it nonetheless excited her sense of adventure.

She wouldn't be the first to admit that their stay on the island had definitely been 'eventful'. In a few brief hours, they had documented newfound species of wildlife, sighted many others that were thought to be extinct, maliciously hunted by rarer forms of Grimm, and had all somehow survived unscathed. It was a true adventure in the making, and they all had encountered too much to state otherwise.

Eyeing the darkened clouds above her, she began to feel the first droplets of rain on her jacket as she continued to casually lounge at the entrance. Outstretching her hand, she allowed the rain to dance upon her palm and smiled contentedly. Although quiet moments were rare and far between in her life, especially considering her rather 'brash' personality, she nonetheless took the time to appreciate them. It was an odd pastime that she savoured with an ironic sense of mirth.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she titled her head upwards to acknowledge it, finding a pair of amber eyes meeting her own. "So, what're we doing today, Blake?"

"We're staying here to work on the Bullhead, Ensign Xiao Long." Although Blake's voice remained mostly professional, the blond nonetheless noted the tinge of humour in the ravenette's voice. "However, they're sending up Captain Rose and Chief Valkyrie to help."

"Why's she called 'Chief'?" She asked offhandedly as she stood herself up, stretching her arms in the process.

"Captain called her such, so I'm just rolling with it."

Yang chuckled light-heartedly at her partner's deadpan expression. Blake had always been more of the stoic and professional type, a great thing for combat situations, not so much for social ones. Nevertheless, the Faunus had always surprised her in the most ridiculous of ways, which was always a big plus in her book. "Whatever you say then, mistress."

Evidently bristling at the title, Blake hissed at her, "Don't you start with-" and paused suddenly, her eyes immediately narrowing and mouth pursed in concentration. Soon thereafter, the ravenette's eyes widened immensely in distress. "YANG, GET BEHIND SOMETHING!"

Trusting her partner, Yang grabbed the ravenette and spun quickly towards the interior of the Bullhead, their backs sorely slamming into the metal interior with a loud bang. Her eyes widened immediately at the dust rounds that followed quickly thereafter, flying hastily through the position they stood in moment ago. Breathing ragged, she turned quickly to her partner, "What the actual fuck!?"

"Who knows, but those were high-grade suppressors they were using. Whoever they are, they're dangerous and incredibly well-armed." Remaining outwardly calm, Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud from her back and shifted the blade into its pistol form. In an impressive display of agility, she bridged the opening gap of the Bullhead and fired blindly into the depths of the forest, landing perfectly on the opposite side of the door.

Smiling, the ravenette tossed her the earpiece and gestured her to remain temporarily silent. Complying with her request, Yang silently placed the earpiece into her ear and activated it. As moments passed in tense silence, the two shared a silent giggle at the event that completely shattered it. From the depths of the forest, a burly scream of pain could be heard for a brief second, followed immediately by the rustling of vegetation.

Out of the tree line, a group of five sombrely emerged with weapons drawn, one of whom was clearly in pain with a tinge of red spreading on his shoulder. They were all, both male and female, dressed in a uniform coloured almost entirely in black from head to toe. Nonetheless, that was far from the oddest aspect of their attire. Rather than comfortable combat apparel, they were all dressed in dress pants and formal vests, accented only by the red ties that adorned their collars and the black umbrellas that protected them from the rain. They were clearly a unit of some kind, but their affiliation or allegiance remained an obvious mystery for her and her partner.

" _ **Xiao Long, Belladonna, what in Oum's name is happening over there?"**_

Finding little reason now to stay silent, she readied Ember Celica and cocked them with practice ease. _**"Yeah… we got company over here cap', and they're far from friendly."**_

Although the relatively quiet swearing in her ear was rather entertaining, the situation before her was much more… unnerving. The quintuple of black remained eerily mute underneath the rain, revealing only minute details to indicate that they were indeed alive. Her nerves chattered desperately in time with the droplets of rain that splattered across the roof of the Bullhead, forcing her to remain vigilant as she silently observed their assailants.

" _ **Xiao Long, still there?"**_ The voice in her ear remained composed, a fact that she would be eternally grateful for.

" _ **Still kicking."**_ She chuckled nervously at her answer, occasionally clenching her fist.

" _ **Good. Can you describe them?"**_

She continued to stare at the seemingly immovable statues in the rain, searching for further signs of humanity within them. _**"They're dressed in uniform, all black and all incredibly neat."**_

" _ **Alright, so not more of Nikos', military then?"**_

" _ **Not any of the four Kingdoms' at least. I don't recognize the uniform."**_ Turning towards her partner, she mouthed if Blake recognized any of them. A futile endeavour apparently when the ravenette decisively shook her head. _**"Blake doesn't recognize them as any black ops operatives either."**_

" _ **Mercenaries?"**_

" _ **No, they're wearing vests and ties. They look more like a dance troupe than a mercenary group."**_

" _ **Well whoever they are, we're sending up Rose, Valkyrie, Coal, and Katt as backup, hang on and stay safe."**_ He let out a heavy sigh and continued with a softer tone, _**"Considering the fact that there is an unknown faction on this island with us and the worsening weather, we're planning to mobilize and rendezvous with Captain Soleil on the west side of the island, think you can meet us there?"**_

A moment or two had passed before his voice once again resounded in her ear. _**"Are you alright over there, Yang?"**_

As the pounding of her heart steadily hastened, she barely realized that she had merely nodded to answer the question. Leaning deeper into the steel interior of the Bullhead, she slowly steadied herself. Forging a small smile on her face, she slammed her fists together and exhaled dramatically. _**"Sorry bout' that captain, just got a case of the nerves. Wasn't the first time we've ever been in a tight jam, and probably won't be our last either."**_

" _ **Good to hear, Yang. I've passed another receiver to Rose and company, so they should be getting into contact with you soon. Their current position should be tracked in real time by your scrolls, so keep an eye out for an ETA of 10 minutes."**_

" _ **Got it cap',"**_ shooting a predatory grin towards the ravenette opposite of her, she once again outwardly stifled the budding fears that roared within her, _**"wish us luck."**_

" _ **Don't think you need it, but stay safe. If you need to move and leave the Bullhead, do so. No casualties,"**_ the man paused for a moment before continuing, _**"on either side, Xiao Long."**_

" _ **I'll try."**_ She cooed playfully.

Winking cheekily at her partner, she then darted hastily out of the Bullhead and into the growing storm, a hearty grin clearly evident on her expression. She was getting tired of the gloom these clowns had brought on her adventure, and it was about time that someone brightened up their day.

* * *

Dodging another strike aimed for her neck, she rotated her body and countered swiftly with a high kick aimed for the man's jaw. Feeling the familiar sense of impact, she utilized the recoil to twist her body once more for another kick, following up her previous manoeuvre with an even swifter strike. She smirked proudly when the larger man backpedalled quickly to avoid further punishment, grunting painfully as he did so.

Taking the moment to gratefully recover her breath, she began to frown deeply at the situation she'd inadvertently found herself in. There were a myriad of ways Blake could've chosen to live out the rest of her life, an incredibly diverse myriad of ways with endless possibilities. She could've opened a bookstore, became a writer, or maybe even settled down and gotten married, a quaint life to recompense for all of the bullshit fate had dealt her. But no, by fate's perverted sense of humour and her own flawed judgment, she had _willingly_ enlisted herself as a naval officer of the Kingdom of Vale. At this point, she would give anything to have the opportunity to slap her past self.

Finding her break annoyingly interrupted by another opponent entering the fray, she instinctively ducked underneath the thrust of a woman's umbrella. Yes, it was definitely an umbrella. Turns out that the pointed heads of their situational fashion accessories were much sharper than she initially assumed, shifting into rather efficient blades that could be extended to a maximum range of ten centimetres. Yeah, she really, really wanted the opportunity to smack some sense into her past self.

Cringing, she avoided another thrust from her side, barely circumventing a fatal incision to her jugular. Aura or not, she was definitely not taking the risk. Quickly recovering from the potentially lethal attack, she swung Gambol Shroud's sheath at the woman's temple, praying to Oum that it would be enough to incapacitate the woman or at least buy her some time.

Unfortunately for Blake, however, her previous opponent had recovered much too quickly for her taste. Closing the distance in a surprising show of agility, the man had moved in to recompense for his partner's blunder, blocking Blake's strike with extraordinary expertise.

Realizing the immediate danger of her situation, Blake swung Gambol Shroud at the man. Utilizing the regained momentum, she distanced herself from the pair in a show of rather extraordinary acrobatics. Flying through the air, she activated her semblance and spread them out throughout the field to disorient her assailants, firing wildly with Gambol Shroud as she did so.

Landing a few metres away, she reversed the grips of both her weapons and rushed forward to reengage the enemy. Finding herself swiftly in range, she swung both weapons at the male counterpart of the duo, seeking to separate the pair. Finding the familiar sense of resistance instead however, her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the clash of blades before her. The duo had instead moved closer together, blocking her strike in mechanical tandem.

Nevertheless, she smiled bravely at the sight, an idea flourishing quickly within her mind. Pouring Aura into her arms, she pushed off of their blades and launched herself into the air, once again shifting Gambol into its pistol form. Throwing the scythe attached to it with practiced ease, the weapon found itself wrapped around the woman's wrist, surprise and momentary hesitance clearly displayed on her expression. It was a reaction which Blake sorely enjoyed as she yanked backwards with the assistance of gravity.

Regardless of the fact that the woman was taller and heavier than she was, the combination of gravity and her rather abrupt feat took the woman by complete surprise. As Blake watched the woman tumble towards the ground, the smile on her face quickly grew much more predatory in nature. Shifting the weight of her body backwards, she tumbled in the air for some time before quickly activating her semblance. Regaining altitude with the assistance of her shadow clones, she threw Gambol off to the side midair and shifted her grip on its sheath to a two-handed one.

Finding herself positioned immediately above the other half of the mysterious duo, she stretched out her legs and wielded her Aura to reinforce her lower half. Allowing gravity to take lead, her figure steadily gained speed as it cut cleanly through the rain and wind of the growing storm. She would take this secret with her to the grave, but she immensely enjoyed the sight of her frightened assailant's jaw dropping to the floor as she descended to deal out righteous fury.

Realizing the imminent danger that he was in, the man hurriedly ducked to avoid her trajectory. But, her smile merely widened at his actions as she tightened her grip around Gambol's sheath. Now finding herself in close proximity of her opponent, she twisted her body with an almost inhuman display of flexibility and slammed its side into the rear of the man's head with reckless abandon. Before the more feminine half of the duo could recover and regain her footing in the now muddy clearing, the man slowly but surely collapsed onto her struggling form. Here figure now messily trapped underneath the full weight of her unconscious partner.

Time seemed to temporarily halt within the clearing, its passing only vaguely indicated by the continuous pattering as rain met the mud beneath her. She began to giggle inwardly at the sight, finding it rather humorous considering everything. Subterfuge, misdirection, and stealth were definitely her fortes, but it seemed that time spent in the presence of a certain audacious blond had rubbed off of her.

Her eyes widened greatly at the thought of her partner. Swearing inwardly, she began turning wildly in search of the fiery blond, a tinge of worry clearly evident on her expression. However, to her relieved surprise, she found the blond sitting nonchalantly nearby with a commandeered umbrella on hand to protect her dearly beloved mane. To her even greater surprise though was the position Yang was in, having taken a seat at the top of a small heap formed by the rest of their assailants.

Finally noticing that both of their battles had been concluded with a victory, the blond waved casually at her with a cheeky grin plastered firmly on her face. "Hey Blake, took you long enough!"

Rolling her eyes at her partner, she shook her head and dexterously picked up Gambol Shroud, sheathing it in one swift motion. "Some of us prefer an additional tinge of finesse in our fights, Yang."

Yang chuckled at her response. "Funny, I could've sworn you using Gambol's sheath like a bat. Nice knockout by the way."

"Well-" she paused momentarily, blinking confusedly as she turned once again to fully face the blond, "wait, you were watching?"

"Yup, I was done by five minutes ago." Yang stated a matter-of-factly.

"And you didn't think to help?" Regardless of her best attempts to minimize Faunus stereotyping within her daily life, the question nonetheless came out as something close to a hiss, accented only by the way her eyes narrowed irritably at her partner.

"I wanted to enjoy the show."

She felt a headache steadily emerging within her. "YANG, I SWEAR-"

Interrupting her rather aggrieved thoughts, however, was the regrettably familiar boom of explosives. Rotating warily to face its impending source, she once again unsheathed Gambol and readied herself for another confrontation. Nevertheless, life never seemed to cease outgrow its twisted sense of humour. It was to her complete surprise (but she was nonetheless grateful) that when the forest parted once more, rather than meeting the blade of another enemy, she was instead faced with the rocketing figure of a bubbly Valkyrie flying above her.

"CHEER'S LOVE, THE CAVALRY'S HERE!"

Yup, she could definitely feel that headache coming.

* * *

"Scarlet, sir! We have another incoming transmission."

"Oh, for OUM'S SAKE! Who is it this time?' He asked exasperatedly from the centre of the bridge. It had been a long day for the scarlet lieutenant and fate seemed stubbornly adamant on remaining so.

"It's from an Atlesean vessel, sir! The 'Maid of Orleans'."

His eyebrow rose uncertainly as he recognized the name, his mind debating whether he should heave a sigh of hopeful relief or a sigh of utter dread. Nonetheless, he let out a tired sigh and reluctantly waved for the bridge crew to accept the transmission.

As the crew complied with his orders, the image of a singular man with raven-coloured hair and a pair of light magenta eyes appeared onscreen. He swore vehemently at the sight, his voice echoing loudly and clearly throughout the room. If the Atlesean lieutenant was ever aggrieved by his rather shameless tirade, he did not show it, choosing instead to uphold his stoic expression.

"This is Lieutenant Lie Ren of the 'Maid of Orleans', be rest assured that my intentions are noble. May I ask to whom I am speaking to?" The man, who he now remembered to be named 'Ren', asked almost mechanically.

"First mate Scarlet David speaking," he mockingly saluted, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

Ren heaved out an exasperated sigh, but nonetheless remained impressively neutral in his expression. "'For it is in passing that we achieve immortality.'"

He could feel his eyes widening immensely at the phrase, seemingly bugging out of their sockets. Scarlet began to feel his heart racing, its beat increasingly rapidly and wildly. Memories began to flash randomly within his mind, dredging up scene after scene of his past, both desirable and undesirable; all was laid bare in his moment of growing panic. But in the end, only one remained. It was a rather simple one actually, as a younger version of him sat opposite of another under a lavish pavilion. The scene was almost picturesque, almost being the keyword. After all, he would never, ever forget the tears stifled bravely behind her emerald eyes.

"Where is she?" He muttered stonily.

"It will take some time to explain, but-"

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY COUSIN, YOU TWO-FACED LYING SNAKE!?" Aura flared wildly around his body, fuelled entirely by a collage of emotions stemmed from his protective instincts. He could feel anger, worry, disappointment, hopelessness, and worst of all, utter despair. They surged freely within his mindscape, wreaking uncontrollable havoc over a singular fact. His worst fears had come to pass, and there was once again nothing he could've done. He ceased to care about conversational pleasantries or for his verbal slip, merely the fate of the woman he had sworn on his honour to protect and serve for the duration of his life.

"I see that this has been… much more trying for you than I initially anticipated." Ren's spoke quietly, his voice adopting a surprisingly sympathetic tone. "Nevertheless, it seems that we have much more pressing issues on our hands. Who exactly are you evading? The mines seem rather… unconventional."

Poorly suppressing his inner turmoil, he swallowed his pride with a resigned sigh and steeled himself for the quickly approaching storm of nature and steel. With straightened back and rigid grimace, he once again faced the Atlesean with hardened girt. After all, he had crew to preserve for another day. It was what she would've wanted, and he'll be damned if he would fail her twice in the same day.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed it, I'll quickly go over some things here.  
**

 **1\. I should stop starting chapters with Jaune's feelings. I promise to not do it next chapter, or for the next few probably.  
**

 **2\. As much as this is an Arkos story, Team RWBY are still major players in the narrative, so we got a bit more of Blake and Yang here. I'll seperate this into two subsections for clarity sake:**

 **a. Let's begin with Yang. I wanted to show a more mature Yang, someone who still encompassed the blond badass brawler that bantered and fought with equal love. Here I hoped to show that although she fought quickly and ruthlessly, she did with quite a bit of fear. However please hear me out, if you doesn't it make sense? Yang chose to become a huntress to be with her sister, Ruby, and to a certain extent she joined the naval forces to do the same, which means that she probably isn't actually so brave, she just shows/asserts herself as such. In canon, she ignores her fear and allowed her more primal emotions to take over, which in turn caused the conclusion of her battle with Adam. She was unprepared and uncoordinated for such a powerful unknown enemy. Here, although she allows fear to exist, she does not allow it to control her. Yang suppresses it, but is still aware of it and it allows her to much more precise/methodical in battle. Hope you enjoyed my interpretation of a more mature Yang.**

 **b. Blake, Blake, Blake, the character I have a long disputed love-hate relationship with. Blake's problem can be seen as the opposite of Yang's, instead of ignoring her fears, she concentrates too much on them. It causes to instinctively run, to flee. However, here she has somewhat overcame this particular problem. She's much more aggressive in nature, traits that she probably picked up after working with Yang for so long. In addition, I'd like to quickly discuss the way her thoughts were presented here. For someone who reads so much, I imagine that her imagination can be rather 'broad' and colorful. I wanted to paint her mindscape as such. Even if she's outwardly stoic and quiet, I tend to imagine that her mind is much more active and expressive. Maybe you agree, maybe you don't, but hope it's nonetheless something you can enjoy and makes sense in this context. (BTW, Blake's clones are apparently somewhat solid, so she can actually jump off of them which she did in this chapter. It's true, check the wiki).  
**

 **3\. Tracer is Bae**

 **4\. Should I change the rating to M? Some of the later chapters can get rather dark, plus swearing among pirates is kinda thing. Leave a review for your thoughts. Thanks.**

 **Well as usual, leave a review if you have anything to say, whether good or bad, and if you liked it, consider a like or fav. Thanks, see you next time.**


	14. Chapter 13: Check

**AN: Hello, been a while hasn't it? Apparently, when family you haven't seen for a while want to spend time with you, they really want to spend time with you. Hence, the delay. Good news though is that the chapter is twice as long as a normal one. Bad news though is that even after countless drafts, I still feel that it doesn't do justice for what I want it be. So if you don't usually read the author notes at the end of the chapter, I beseech you to do it for this chapter. i understand that it is a failure as an author on my part if an AN becomes necessary to understand the motivations and actions of a character, and I deeply apologize for that, but it may help. Nevertheless, I thank you again for reading and hope you enjoy the chapter.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Check**

* * *

" _We do not remember days, we remember moments."_

 _\- Cesare Pavese_

There were very few things in his life that could alarm Lie Ren to any degree. After all, he had built up a rather peculiar, but nevertheless hardy resistance towards the more 'surprising' and explicitly 'frightening' things in life. Take it as an inevitable side effect of being closely associated with a particular Valkyrie and her misadventures since infancy. Bless that wonderful woman's heart, but he nonetheless updated his will as regularly as possible.

Nowadays however, his reasons for continuing such a ritual had begun shifting steadily, for the past year to be precise. At first, he wasn't particularly certain about this fact, or even if it existed at all. But, as the days earnestly passed, the situations he found himself in gradually grew more… perilous. An unnerving escalation from the precarious situations he was accustomed to.

Usually he would merely dismiss this rather unhealthy paradigm shift to be the cruel mischiefs of fate herself, but their systematic regularity and growing severity had, surprisingly for all intents and purposes, alarmed him.

But now, as he watched the growing figures of heavily armed hostile ships approaching his position from a horizon littered with an assortment of mines, he soon realized that the reasons he updated his will so regularly had become significantly more blond. He grimaced inwardly at the thought; his shoulders slumping slightly as the reality of it all fully dawned on him.

Releasing a massive sigh, he began signalling and impassively uttering a new set of orders to those present on the bridge. If they all survived this, Ren swore that his captain would be on the receiving end of some severe repercussions. Damn the blond for adding to the already long list of possible reasons that justified his recent registration for therapy.

* * *

"TURN THE WHEEL!"

Those were the last conscious words Jaune could call out before feeling the seat violently lurch out underneath him, while a fiery ball of flame overtook the better half of his vision. The explosion wildly overturned the FAV, viciously throwing out its contents with unsurprising maliciousness.

The detonation's epicentre being only a few meters beside him, he could feel the growing touch of heat on his skin, alongside how his body recoiled instinctively to protect itself from the flames. It contrasted drastically with how the cold droplets of rain continued to assail him. Disorientated, he forcefully pushed his body up from the ground, scratched palms digging deeply into the mud beneath him.

Little more than an hour had passed since his little group had restarted their trek west to rendezvous with the 'Invictus', a group which now somehow included an ensemble of pirates and their apparently gallant captain. Thankfully, the trip itself had been completely uneventful… at least at first. It was some time ago that they'd gotten into contact with Ren and the 'Maid' again, and this time, he brought along a friend.

They were able to connect the 'Achilles' to the communications network and well… communicate with each other. This is in itself was great news, an excellent method of preventing further misunderstandings and limiting confusion. Unfortunately, the news they bore was nothing less of daunting.

Discounting the already growing concern of a heavy storm, a more tangible force had also appeared to disrupt their operations. Torchwick, 'Gentleman Pirate of Vacuo', the 'Rogue of the Southern Winds', an experienced pirate with a bounty of almost 200 million lien, and ultimately, a gaudy and slippery criminal that had evaded authorities with an easy smirk for decades, had made an appearance.

Flamboyancy and outward appearances aside, the man was incredibly dangerous and astute. Drug Trafficking, thievery, contraband smuggling, arms dealings, he had his fingers in anything that could fatten his pockets. With a criminal empire that stretched deeper and wider than most politicians', he was one of Atlas' most wanted, but today… today he was simply another common enemy they had to survive against. It didn't take long for him to connect Yang's reports and the pirate kingpin's appearance, and he'd immediately ordered all of them to stay alert while hastening their pace. Nevertheless, explosives were definitely something that he did not expect.

As his vision steadily recovered and Jaune regained some semblance of his wits, his eyes widened quickly at the sight before him. It was a hell of a sight to see. The earth was scorched erratically along the path, its destruction severely emphasized by the various rainwater-filled craters that were scattered about from multiple detonations.

The FAV had remained in sight, overturned on its side and clearly exuding smoke. He swore internally, praying to every known version of heaven that everyone in the buggy had made it out alive.

Steeling himself, he reached backwards for his weapon. Finding the familiar hilt of his sword, he unsheathed the blade and expanded its accompanying shield facilely. His eyes scanned the horizon vigilantly, searching for any hint of movement with the barest hints of paranoia. Torchwick wanted had them gone, badly, and his goons were definitely more than adequately equipped to get the job done.

At the corner of his vision, he could clearly see the stationary form of the troop transport. It was dented in several places and its exterior sported a number of marks, but it was otherwise unharmed. He released a relieved sigh, the armour had held out, for now at least.

Everything emotional in him demanded he retreat and find his ensemble, to assure himself of the safety of every member, both crew and captive. Aura was a powerful thing, but it didn't make anyone invincible. Suppressing his worries though, he quickly eliminated the idea with a grimace. He couldn't take the risk of being caught off guard again, lest his life be forever forfeit, alongside all of his subordinates. He had to trust that they knew that they were doing; after all, they were all officers for Oum's sake.

He frowned greatly at his circumstances; although the rain had smothered a majority of the blaze, remnants nonetheless continued to produce smoke at a disorientating rate. Compounded by the rain, it was a situation that harshly hampered his vision.

Keeping his sights trained warily on the horizon, it wasn't long before he caught sight of a swiftly moving silhouette oncoming through the growing haze, undoubtedly a foe of some kind. He quickly channelled Aura into his limbs, shooting forward hastily to meet his opponent.

The first lesson of combat that he'd under no circumstances ever forget was to always take the initiative. Winter had certainly drilled that lesson into him, going so far as to identify it as a tenet of the Schnee household. It was by no means entirely graceful, or in some cases honourable, and although he wasn't always proud of the fact, it was undeniably better than lying in a pool of his own blood.

Experience had taught him that lesson.

Swinging quickly, he felt the weapon shift familiarly in his grip as he cleanly cut through the smoke. The silver blade was 45 centimeters long, crafted from almost indestructible Arcadian steel by the Arc household itself, and although its length was somewhat unconventional for a single-handed sword, it was nonetheless one that he preferred. The weapon lacked any sort of decorative embellishments, with the cross guard being the sole exception to the rule, as it bore an unblemished golden gem at its centre. His weapon also lacked even the most basic of mechanical transformations, remaining as it was in all situations, a classic sword.

Predictably finding resistance at the end of his swing, he conducted additional Aura into his sword arm. Sensing the almost explosive surge of strength, he continued his strike with a visceral grin. The smoke before him dissipated almost instantly from the winds released by his swing, gifting him with the privilege of meeting his opponent's gaze. A man of similar height and build, dressed exactly as Yang had described her assailants.

However, the man's expression nevertheless brought Jaune some consolation of joy. With mouth agape and eyes widened to an almost impossible degree as the brief exchange hurled him away, the man seemed absolutely flabbergasted at the sheer strength behind Jaune's blow.

The blonde captain made it a point to wield his personalized weapon as intermittently as possible (unless the situation direly called for it), as he desired to drill a simple lesson that too many forgot into the heads of his crew: that no matter the sharpness or calibre of the weapon, it wouldn't do anyone good if its wielder simply stumbled about with it. But, as Jaune continued to watch his opponent fly further into the forest, he couldn't help but allow a smile on his face to widen. It nevertheless felt amazing to wield an actual weapon he could actually let loose with. And Oum knows how desperately he needed an outlet for his frustrations today.

Weaving through the smoke, he rushed forth once again. Uplifting his shield, he pushed it forward and harshly pulled the trigger on its handle. At once, the double arcs on its anterior whirled into life, spinning softly as it shifted from its golden hue to a white one. Wind rushed freely around him, its strong breeze quickly and effectively clearing away the growing cloud of smoke surrounding him.

Jaune Arc was a simple man, and his favourite sword reflected him as such. Nevertheless, he was not so naïve as to believe that the battlefield would allow him such pleasantries. Hence, the better half of his arsenal existed, his shield. Currently, it was in its standard form, presenting itself as a thick heater shield. The shield was made with versatility and durability in mind, serving its duties as a sheath, protector, and adaptable weapon honourably, while remaining as probably the most complex piece of equipment he'd ever personally owned. In accordance to his familial color scheme, the shield was pristine white with a golden trim, while the double arcs of the Arc household were proudly presented at its centre for all to see.

Mechanically, the shield's inner workings were embedded with a variety of Dust mechanisms, alongside a few other surprises, compensating greatly for the lack of versatility in his chosen sword. The shield was equipped with seven reloadable valves of Dust, bestowing upon him the ability to freely switch between and utilize the capabilities of at most seven unique varieties of Dust, or an absurd amount of one, all released from a single barrel placed in between the Arc crest.

It hadn't been difficult to recruit Nora's assistance in engineering the shield during their early days together, albeit it ended up being rather expensive. Honestly, he'd initially expected her to request an almost ludicrous amount of pastry or food (particularly pancakes) for her services, but instead she had demanded two full shipping crates of Arcadian steel for her experiments. He could hardly forget how shell shocked his younger self was in relation to her demands.

Chuckling ruefully at his memories, he soon thereafter regained full vision of the area around him. He bemusedly noted the three additional assailants that stood before him with weapons drawn.

Humming nonchalantly to himself, Jaune sighed and strode forward to meet the one closest to him. Keeping his body low, he greeted the first of his assailants with a hearty shield blow to the man's gut. Disorientating the rather dapper grunt, he forced the man to take a pained step backwards.

Immediately recognizing the shift in momentum, Jaune hastened his movements and followed up quickly by shoving his opponent upwards, flipping the man over with his shield. Tightening the grip on his sword, he met his opponent's gaze as gravity took control of the fall and slammed the flat side of his blade onto the man's nose.

Generally sure that the first of his opponents had been incapacitated, he turned quickly to deftly deflect an oncoming thrust. With a grimace, he countered immediately with a swift thrust of his own. Pushing his second opponent back, he then utilized the mud beneath him to quickly drop to a single knee and scarcely avoid another thrust, this one aimed dangerously close to his right eye. Recovering urgently, he twisted and forcibly slammed his shield onto the man's temple, recouping his stance as he did so. He shuffled backwards quickly, distancing himself from the pair.

Now gaining a brief moment of respite from his opponents, he directed a large burst of Aura into his shield and pulled the trigger on its handle once more. With the addition of a larger burst of Aura as a catalyst, the wind now roared wildly at his command, its expulsions causing scarcely directed havoc throughout the clearing. His shield protected him from the brunt of the element's overwhelming maliciousness, but his opponents were definitely not so privileged. The pair struggled to remain upright as the gust pushed against them, instinctively positioning their arms to protect their faces.

Exploiting the temporary break of eyesight, Jaune rushed forward with sword and board at ready. Swiftly reaching his opponents' positions, he greeted the man on his left with a strenuous blow to the temple and swiftly gyrated behind him, quickly pushing the now unconscious man towards his partner as he did so.

Surprising the final assailant with his now deadbeat of a comrade, he utilized the opportunity and moved quickly to position himself behind the man. Lifting his heel, he slammed it into the rear side of his opponent's right knee, downing the struggling man.

Soon thereafter, he disarmed him and roughly dug the edge of his blade into the side of the man's neck, halting all forms of movement as they both went deathly still. The blade was definitely not pushed deep enough to cut with Aura present, but it nonetheless served as an effective, albeit rudimentary intimidation technique for interrogations.

Hey, no one ever said he was very subtle about this.

"How many?" The sounds of battle could still be heard occasionally amongst the pattering of rain drops as he articulated his question, and it aggrieved him to no end. Still, he remained wary of the immediate situation before him. Time was undeniably of the essence here, but it would do no good for anybody if he were to drop his guard carelessly.

"How many what-t? P-please, I'll answer whatever question you have!" The ma-…no, boy whimpered out.

The blond captain could scarcely withhold his rage, his disgust. _'Who the fuck did Torchwick think he was!?'_ There were few things in life that could truly incite his fury, but the damned pirate had somehow achieved it without even a personal meeting. His opponent, someone who'd attempted to deprive him of his life, was but a mere child, a young man who'd just barely crossed the line into adulthood.

The boy's build and actions clearly suggested that he was no stranger to battle or harsh training, presenting him as a hardened assassin at first glance. However, it was his demeanour and tone under severe stress that easily betrayed his true age as a teen. They boy was obviously a fighter, a warrior, but whether or not he did so willingly was another question.

Dammit, and what about the others he'd dealt with, were they also nothing more than children? It was a revolting thought to even have, let alone experience the possible realities of it.

"How many of you are on the island?" Jaune's voice growled darkly as he questioned the boy, its tone much harsher than he initially intended.

"T-twent-ty five, sir!"

Damn, he'd obviously scared the boy. Although he was unable the meet his eyes, the method in which his charge shivered harshly against his blade was a clear indicator of his blunder. Attempting to hurriedly rectify his mistake, he sighed and perceptibly relaxed his body, albeit his hold on the boy remained steadfast.

"Look, I-" He began softly. But, as he sought to continue speaking, the sound of shattering glass echoed behind him.

His instincts screeched bloodcurdlingly in his mindscape, driving him to hastily release the boy and turn around. The boy no longer had any will to fight anyway, if the manner in which he fearfully slumped to the ground had been an accurate indicator of his condition, and whoever he had deal to with now was deemed infinitely more dangerous by his intuition. Resuming his standard combat stance, Jaune now found himself surprisingly meeting the gaze of a pair of heterochromatic eyes.

Its owner was a rather petite woman with long hair of a surprising trio of pink, brown, and white. She was dressed fashionably in a white collared jacket, brown pants, and gray boots with almost impractically high heels. He'd initially categorized her as another child due to her small stature and youthful appearance, yet everything in him screamed not to underestimate her as such.

As she began to impishly twirl the umbrella in her hand, she continued to observe him, and he, in turn, took the moment to carefully do the same, hoping to decipher anything about the woman who was most probably his newest assailant.

She was obviously a lieutenant of some kind, as her more unique attire and silent confidence obviously dictated her as such. But, it wasn't her status that set his intuition on edge; it was everything else about her. The graceful way she moved left little to no sound in its wake, and the consistency and ease in which she did so alarmed him greatly. It didn't take long for his mind to solidify his conclusion that the woman before him was undoubtedly dangerous.

The method in which she enthusiastically wore an expression of constant mischief, avidly characterised by the way her irises occasionally shifted in color and the seemingly permanent smirk that adorned her visage, everything about her reminded him too much of a predator who adored playing with her food.

He was unsure of what method she employed to get so close to him, and even if she'd been able to move with complete silence, one of his senses should've alarmed him of her presence much earlier. In addition, the sound of shattering glass that he'd heard earlier was definitely connected to her entrance somehow, a clue that he would be a complete fool to discard as mere coincidence.

Whoever she was, she was a powerful wildcard in the greater scheme of things. The more analytical aspect of him demanded her immediate capture. Whether a bounty, or even any record of her, even existed within Atlas' database, she was nonetheless someone that needed to be dealt with now. And if incarceration was not possible, her death was probably the safest alternative.

"Are you willing to surrender?" He spoke the question stoically, carefully maintaining its neutral tones as consistently possible.

The woman's eyes widened slightly in shock at his question, as if he had erratically grown a second head or blasphemed the name of Oum himself. It solidified a rather grim picture of his prospects.

Resuming, he pressed the woman further. "Then what, or whom, are you here for?"

She paused promptly at his question, tapping a finger on her chin as if she was deeply lost in thought on how to reply. Soon thereafter, however, she allowed the smirk on her expression to widen wickedly. She chuckled mutely and _firstly_ pointed vaguely in his direction, then at the two unconscious forms nearby and finally at the boy on the ground beside him.

He raised an eyebrow inquiringly, allowing himself to take a brief glance at the person beside him. The boy was shaking terribly, his eyes widened madly in profound horror. Jaune felt his heartbeat hastening at the sight, as if the overwhelming fear present in him was contagious.

Returning his attention to the woman before him, he tightened his grip around his weapon and narrowed his eyes. "Care to elaborate?"

The woman promptly displayed a toothy grin on her expression in reply, seemingly ecstatic over the fact that he had even asked the question. She brought her finger to her lips this time, playfully tapping it twice on the surface of her skin. Subsequently, she then dropped the same finger to her neck and held it horizontally across, before slashing it across in an unfortunately all too familiar motion for him.

Jaune reacted immediately to the sight, rushing forward while pulling his sword back for a swing. To his incredulous surprise however, the woman made no moves to avoid his blade, and neither did she bothered to draw out a weapon, choosing instead to remain in place with her signature smirk.

To a certain extent, her actions infuriated the pettier and darker side of his psyche. It reminded him too much of his past, and he felt himself obviously tensing at the thought. Nevertheless, he forcibly regained his focus, swearing internally at the method in which he had digressed so quickly.

He hoped that it had not been a lethal misstep.

Bringing himself into range, he quickly swung his blade, somewhat waning the strength behind the blow at the last moment before impact. He was well aware of the realities of death in battle, the possible lethality and finality of it; nevertheless, he had no desire of making it anything short of an undesirable necessity if possible.

However, apparently his worries had remained unfounded, and his eyes soon widened profusely at the culmination of events before him. As the blade in his hands completed its arc, it was not met with the hardy and resilient resistance of Aura; it had instead utterly shattered the figure before him.

The signature sound of shattering glass echoed vividly in his ears, evidently identifying the sound he'd heard earlier. The revelation compelled him to quickly reverse his direction, hoping to keep the woman in sight. Carefully ensuring that he did not lose his footing due to the mud beneath him, he recouped his stance once more and sought to ready another charge to engage the woman.

As he prepared to do so, however, he immediately halted apprehensively in his tracks instead. In his moment of hesitance, he could feel his mouth gaping suddenly underneath the rain, desperate to release any variance of sound.

His body reflexively moved forward with all its might.

His soul channelled Aura to enhance him.

His mind raced to form any foundation of a plan.

And yet, for all of his efforts, for all of his struggles, he had remained an arm's length away from a boy and his final gasp.

Underneath the growing storm, on a merciless place of nameless origin, a single blade had pierced cleanly through the boy's throat. And he had been powerless to thwart it.

Allowing his now dampened blond hair to cover his face, he stoically turned to meet the eyes of the blade's owner. "Why?" He mouthed the question impersonally.

The woman merely shrugged in reply, retaining her smirk all throughout the entire ordeal.

"You don't have one?"

Her eyes widened greatly thereafter, as if she had just come upon a great revelation of some kind. She then closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, bringing her hands together to support its supposed weight.

"Sleep…"

The woman shook her head lightly, urging him to continue further.

"Boredom…"

She opened a single eye and nodded.

He paused and stilled momentarily, before finally noting the fact that his body had begun shaking violently.

"You were bored?"

She nodded once more, this time much more vigorously while winking at him.

"Bored?" He spoke through gritted teeth, emotions welling wildly within him until it was too much to bear.

"THE FUCKING REASON WAS THAT YOU WERE FUCKING BORED?!" He growled savagely, lunging directly for the woman's throat. Aura flared wildly around him, fuelled by visceral emotions of unadulterated fury. Once again, however, his blade only met glass as the woman's image shattered before him.

Catching her figure at the corner of his vision, he recovered promptly and zealously chased after it. He swung wildly at the woman, abandoning all semblance of technique or finesse for brute strength. Only instincts and emotions guided his almost primordial movements now, inciting his more feral nature to run rampant within his psyche.

He swung left. She dodged back.

He followed with a thrust. She sidestepped left.

Frustration stewed hatefully within him as he pushed himself further, channelling Aura into every corner of his body to hasten his pursuit. His vision blurred momentarily, while his muscles throbbed agonizingly, body and mind obviously protesting against what was essentially self-inflicted abuse.

Yet, for all its cries, he refused to even acknowledge it. After all, he had psychotic bitch to deal with.

He spun and swung once more. She easily ducked with an easy smirk.

Veering slightly, he performed an uppercut with his sword. She backpedalled nimbly.

He chased forward and cut right. She flipped backwards and for once countered.

Easily deflecting the blow with his shield, he shoved his shield forward with all of his strength, his darker fragments dearly coveting her demise.

Nevertheless, his blow merely met glass as the figure before him shattered violently into pieces, and it seemed with it, reality itself. Energy flowed freely and uncontrollably around him, suffocating him as it overwhelmed his senses in a flash of light. The world around him then seemed to simply disappear, leaving him with a strange sense of vertigo.

Fury quickly abandoned its holds on him, returning to him some measure of rational and critical thought. His body slumped tiredly soon thereafter, exhausted beyond all measure due to his own recklessness. Nevertheless, no matter the reason, whether it was the consequential result of pushing his body's physical limits or even the success of the woman's ploy, the reason no longer mattered, the fact of the matter was his body was utterly spent.

All emotion left him then as the full weight of the realization finally dawned on him, he'd let himself be played. His newest assailant had not only manipulated him into driving himself into the ground, but had essentially finished him off by imbuing a concoction of Dust into her most recent construct. The detonation had not only robbed him of the remnants of his strength, but shattering the construct had also released an explosive ripple that robbed him of most of his basic senses through some sort of sensorial overload. And the end result? He had essentially orchestrated his own vulnerability.

Now, for all intents and purposes, Captain Jaune Arc of the Atlesean Naval Forces was soon to be a dead man.

* * *

Pyrrha had never considered herself an overtly emotional person for a number of reasons, most of them being closely related to her upbringing, while others could be attributed to her chosen persona. Nonetheless, the past hour or so may have proved otherwise.

As she sat silently in the passenger seat of a rather claustrophobic Atlesean troop transport, her mind stubbornly refused to stray away from the reports that had been brought to her attention earlier today. Respective looks of fear and fury swapped seamlessly and unremittingly on her expression, seemingly trapped in a disparaging cycle as she continued to ruminate.

The vague mentions of Torchwick and his fleet were barely registered by her cognizance, instead overshadowed by the sheer storm of emotions raging inside of her. She wanted to lash out, scream at the top of her lungs, to retake her bullhead and ride into the heart of battle herself in defense of her family. But for all of her fiery desires and anguished fury, she was consciously aware that it was an improbable course of action at the moment.

After all, for all of her instincts, skills, persona, everything she could ever employ in a situation, none of them could ever overcome the sheer problem of physical distance. It incredulously frustrated her, being so restricted in the face of total disaster, leaving no alternative but to clench her fists and allow her emotions to simply simmer.

Yet, beneath the thin veneer of unadulterated fury was an encroaching silence, one that she so wished to control and found herself unable to do so. She felt how it tightened its grip around her heart, how her Aura grew increasingly still as she replayed every word in her mind, how the strength she placed in her fists steadily left her, and it all frightened her.

It was despair, pure and untainted in its rawest form. It disregarded her power, her hopes, her very pleas, her everything. Once again in her life, Pyrrha Nikos felt despair in the deepest sense.

She was prepared to sacrifice everything for the livelihood of her family, those closest to her that had willingly earned her trust and freely returned it with love. She was prepared to never see them again, to lose the privilege of ever building another memory with them, to ever see a new dawn with them. She was willing to endure anything with a smile, as long as those she held dear would forever live their lives to the fullest.

But this, this was nothing she could ever prepare herself for. To witness the possible death of her family and to not be among them, it was as if fate itself had twisted a knife in her gut.

Hence, when the first few blasts rocked her out the seat, she briefly considered remaining apathetically on the floor. It was safe and straightforward.

She could hear the sounds of battle worsening outside, its roars and palpitations growing erratically. The Schnee in the driver seat had been swift to respond, indicated by the agitated echoes of her combat boots as she rushed out the door.

And once again, the temptation of simply conceding to her despair beckoned hungrily.

Resting her eyes for a moment, she found herself a mere teenager once again, an awkward girl trapped between the simplicities of childhood and the rather cruel realities of adulthood. As she slowly regained her bearings, she found herself standing alone before an unnamed grave basked in the orange hue of daylight's last farewell, one marked solely by a pair of rusted blades.

It took everything in her to remain in possession of the last pieces of her dignity as a captain, as a leader whom people feared and trusted their lives with. The image had evoked something truly excruciating within her, wrenching her heart in every possible direction.

And yet, some miniscule part of her had remained stalwart against all circumstance, its small voice mocking her pathetic display. It jeered at her, taunting her with lessons of the past, lessons that those rusted blades had taught her long ago.

A captain remained strong in the face of all adversity, not for their sake but instead for those who supported them. The first and final lesson she'd ever learnt from _him_ , the one belief that she'd built everything on, her singular duty and promise.

Anguish swiftly morphed into shame as she reminisced. What was wrong with her? Hadn't she sworn to Oum himself that she would never lose another like she did as a girl, untainted by the darkness of the world, inexperienced and weak? How could she ever forget the very foundations of her reality, her way of life itself? She couldn't fail now, she wouldn't. Not now, not ever.

Resolve surged quickly within her, snarling viciously at the cold hand that had gripped her heart, burning it without mercy or pause. Aura flared and hissed wildly around her figure, seemingly challenging reality itself to a contest of strength.

Pyrrha Nikos was a proud and gluttonous woman. She loved completely, fought vehemently, and lived freely. So why should she ever accept circumstance now when she'd continuously overturned it since the day she left home to live her life? They were her family, the very people she swore to protect and live for, and they were all still alive. Even if she was apart from them, even if circumstances stood against her, even if the kingdoms themselves should fall, a chance nonetheless remained that they would cross paths once more, no matter what path destiny had in store for her.

Pushing herself up, she shook her head indomitably. No, it wouldn't be by mere chance. It was a promise she herself had to fulfil. She controlled her own destiny, not the world, not circumstance, not any of the four kingdoms, and certainly not other people, she was the one in control.

So to hell with sacrifice, to hell with her circumstance, to hell to anything and everything that stood in her way, she was goddamned Pyrrha Nikos, and she was damned well going to start acting like it.

…

At least, that's what she told herself. Regardless of her personal convictions, problems which could not be solved by determination alone remained. Although her movements were unrestrained, she was undeniably unarmed, and even with her semblance, she was still at a massive disadvantage.

Escape was an unquestionable impossibility. The anklet was unbreakable. She'd examined the device attached to her ankle countless times and had little doubt that it would perform its duty admirably, and Penny had been irritatingly detailed about the extent of its capabilities.

Frustrated, she shook her head once more. Ignoring the fact that she was separated from the crew she brought along (damn door had refused to budge) and the anklet itself, she would be a fool to alienate her only allies against Torchwick.

Allies… That was the crux of the issue for her, wasn't it? She was a pirate, untrustworthy and bloodthirsty, and that was all most would ever consider her as if they knew her today. However, a small smile began to form as she continued to muse. The key she had sought, hidden in between her hurried and muddled thoughts, had been 'most'.

It seemed that destiny had once again proven its wicked sense of humour, that her supposed antitheses would be the key to her survival, and possibly her future.

She needed to find Penny.

And, or Jaune… preferably Penny though.

* * *

" _ **This is CFVY-1, tower. Squadron's armed and ready for lift off, permission to launch?"**_

A video image was promptly projected onto the cockpit in response to her question, displaying the rather formidable visage of a sharp-looking blond. The blond dressed rather conservatively, definitely carrying herself with a certain degree of grace and dignity as she proudly sported the standard Valean naval colors of black and cream.

The woman's hair was done tidily in a neat bun, its clean design somehow accentuating the beauty present in her facial features; and although the subtle traces of grey were occasionally present in her hair, alongside the presence of a number of subtle wrinkles, the woman seemed to have nonetheless weathered age incredibly well. She wore a cream-colored pleated top buttoned firmly up to her neck, its immaculate long sleeves ending comfortably on her wrists. Conversely, a black skirt that reached just above her knees, alongside black stockings and a pair of stilettos, stylishly completed her outfit.

" _ **Affirmative, CFVY-1; we've received a request for assistance barely minutes ago, and the situation continues to escalate. Your target is a fleet of hostile military-grade vessels travelling southwest of our current position. Suppress the enemy and assist all friendlies in the immediate vicinity. Valean and Atlesean ships will provide you with additional updates on the situation when you're in range. We on the other hand, will be sending in two additional squadrons after you as backup, so watch for them, CFVY-1."**_ The woman onscreen took a moment and paused, before continuing shortly thereafter with a much sharper tone. _ **"You are to buy time for us to arrive, nothing more and nothing less. Do I make myself clear CFVY-1?"**_

 _ **"Read you loud and clear, Admiral Goodwitch."**_ She answered promptly and professionally with an elusive smirk.

The Admiral merely nodded in response, the motion slowed and obviously hesitant. Nevertheless, Goodwitch seemed somewhat satisfied with her answer, on one level or another. _**"Good hunting then, CFVY-1."**_

Finding the video channel with her commanding officer closing promptly, she allowed her self-control to lax as a mischievous grin began to widen. She was getting rather bored lying about, and it was about time someone called them in for some action.

 _ **"CFVY-1 here, you ladies ready to raise some hell?"**_ She spoke amusedly, barely suppressing the growing edge in her voice.

 _ **"CFVY-2, ready at your command, ma'am."**_

 _ **"CFVY-3, r-ready to fly."**_

 _ **"CFVY-4, present and disposed, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Adel."**_

 _ **"Well then, let's rock n' roll!"**_

* * *

 **AN: Let's talk I suppose:**

 **1\. Jaune:  
a. A large chunk of the chapter concentrates on him, and what I wanted to do here is flesh out his character. Jaune has been in the navy for quite some time and he is well aware that death is rather inevitable at times. However, he obviously shows mercy and I believe that this fact is incredibly tied to his personality. In canon, Jaune came to Beacon to live up to his family legacy, to stop being the one 'protected', and to chase his dream of becoming a hero. These reasons are understandable for a naive teenager, but for an adult, not so much. Here, I wished again remind everyone that Jaune's reason for doing what he does is to 'protect'. In an earlier chapter, Jaune has a conversation with Ironwood, and he briefly mentions of what he wished to protect, 'the lives, the dreams, and the futures'. Jaune is a firm believer of human potential and what good in can bring to the world, and he does not wish to cut anything at the bud (hoping that it can bear fruit regardless of its origin). It shows that no matter how much he's matures, some part remains of him naive, which displays my favorite part about Jaune, that he's a flawed hero, someone we can relate to on many levels.**

 **b. So if Jaune cares so much about life, why was he trying to kill Neo? Because what she did in killing the boy, someone who in the eyes of Jaune had limitless potential was nipped carelessly at the bud for other reason than her whims, let alone the fact that she had killed an 'ally'. What she did was essentially spitting on his entire way of life, and it incited his anger. Like I said above, Jaune is flawed and it cost him the battle in a second, and that was the point of the exercise really. He's not weak, or stupid (I wanted to portray him using the terrain and his equipment effectively), just flawed, and Neo clearly took advantage of it.**

 **2\. Neo:  
Neo is a lot of things, but normal is not one of them. I don't know about you, but no matter how attractive people seem to make Neo, a part of me would remain wary of her (if she was a real person anyway). She's an accomplished and skilled assassin with a very questionable conscience. I would not be surprised if she was revealed to be Bipolar, considering the stark contrast of cute and crazy in her character. I wanted to portray this effectively, creating a character that was playful, but utterly dangerous in all situations if you're on the wrong side.**

 **3\. Pyrrha:  
A minor theme in this chapter is 'crossroads'. Jaune allowed his emotions to get the better of him, relying on what was probably his weaker aspects, and he lost because. On the other hand, Pyrrha consciously made a decision to remain strong, to take hold of her destiny instead of letting it control her (a very different choice than the one she made in canon). You might say that his seems OOC, but I believe that its a completely possible development considering that she is now a decade older. With age, you come to recognize a lot of things in life, but one that everyone I know has realized is that destiny, fate, or circumstance don't really control you (at least not in most circumstances). You will always be the one in control on how to react, lie down and resign yourself, or walk out and do something about it, and probably everything in between too. Pyrrha chose to hold what she learned in her life close, to believe in those that believed in her, pulling strength from it. I know it sounds corny and borderline vomit-inducing, but sometimes the simplest lessons are the most important ones we need to remember.**

 **Thank you once again for reading, and hope you enjoyed the chapter.  
Note: ******If possible, please leave a review.****


	15. Announcement

**Announcements are never fun...**

"Hello everyone, this is unfortunately not an update but an announcement. I am still alive and writing the continuation of this story, thought I'd just go ahead and reassure everyone. Nevertheless, I am rather overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things going on at the moment, so the pace has been slowed significantly. I apologize and thank you for your patience. Good day to all!


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